Powerful Precedent

Colorado lawmakers continue to defend our state’s right to regulate cannabis. In response to a critical letter written by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in which Sessions questioned the legality and efficiency of Colorado’s recreational and medical cannabis programs, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman penned their own letter to defend the state’s implementation of cannabis legislation.

Sessions’ original letter raised concern about cannabis legalization, as he cited data from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) report, which was released back in September 2016. Sessions wrote in the July 2017 letter, “ . . . please advise as to how Colorado plans to address the serious findings in the RMHIDTA report, including efforts to ensure all marijuana activity is compliant with state marijuana laws, to combat diversion of marijuana, to protect public health and safety, and to prevent marijuana use by minors.”

“Colorado has implemented strong inventory control and enforcement mechanisms to prevent diversion from marijuana businesses, including state-of-the-art seed-to-sale tracking system that has become a model for other states . . . “

One month after the officials obtained the letter from Jeff Sessions, they penned their own response letter. Dated for Thursday, August 24, the letter informed Sessions that cannabis regulations in Colorado are effective in ensuring legal cannabis does not cross state lines. “Preventing diversion is among the state’s top priorities,” the letter reads. “Colorado has implemented strong inventory control and enforcement mechanisms to prevent diversion from marijuana businesses, including state-of-the-art seed-to-sale tracking system that has become a model for other states . . . ” The letter included language to demonstrate how caps on cultivation facilities’ permitted production, required 24-hour surveillance, as well as criminal penalties for unlawful distribution and possession of cannabis are other ways the state prevents diversion.

The two Colorado officials also explained how the legal cannabis industry protects public safety and health. They continued to explain how they are constantly working to strengthen the current system. “When abuses and unintended consequences materialize, the state has acted quickly to address any resulting harms,” the letter reads.

The letter also addressed Sessions’ other concerns, ensuring him that the legalization of cannabis in Colorado has not led to an increase in drug abuse by minors. They cited the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, which stated the study that surveys 15,000 participants “found no statistically significant change in youth marijuana use rates following legalization and shows Colorado’s youth use rates in line with the national average.” The letter used additional trusted studies to back up this fact.

In regards to an increase of traffic accidents and fatalities being associated with legalized cannabis, the letter not only reminds Sessions of the many preventative actions they have taken to ensure public safety in this respect. The letter also breaks down the credibility of the RMHIDTA report Sessions cited in his letter. “We consider RMHIDTA data, among other sources, when evaluating the effectiveness of our enforcement efforts. However, these findings were not included in RMHIDTA’s most recent publication in March 2017, and RMHIDTA has noted that data collection gaps rendered pre-2012 data incomplete.”

This is not the first time Hickenlooper informed Sessions and the Department of Justice of inaccuracies about their worries regarding legal cannabis. Back in February, Hickenlooper sent the Department of Justice and Jeff Sessions a 140-page report, which contained information and an analysis. The report showed that in six states that legalized cannabis, there was not a significant increase in negative effects among youth, from substance abuse to juvenile arrests. It also detailed that there was no clear evidence that an increase in car crashes and fatalities are linked to drivers who have cannabinoids present in their systems.

As three other states penned similar letters to Sessions, defending their states’ rights to regulate cannabis, Colorado continues working alongside lawmakers across the country in defending our freedom to legalize and regulate cannabis at a state-level.