Probation Nation
By the time you read this column, the 2016 Colorado Legislature will have adjourned “sine die” and any new proposed cannabis statutes will have been passed; or passed over.
A very important proposed bill, House Bill 16-1359, is sponsored by Representative Joseph Salazar, and Senator Lucia Guzman. The bill on its face appears to eliminate one of two reasons a court can use to prohibit a medical cannabis patient from using medical cannabis while on probation. Under current law, a court may not prohibit the authorized possession or use of medical cannabis as a condition of probation unless (1) the defendant was convicted of a medical cannabis related crime; or (2) the court determines, based on a “substance abuse assessment” (conducted by the State of Colorado Probation Department), “it is necessary and appropriate to prohibit the use in order to accomplish sentencing goals.”
“What has been happening in many courts since the passage of the current law, medical cannabis patients who have been put on probation have summarily been banned from using medical cannabis.”
What has been happening in many courts since the passage of the current law, medical cannabis patients who have been put on probation have summarily been banned from using medical cannabis. Period. What has been happening is the judge would refer the client to probation for a “substance abuse assessment” and then it was determined that the person could not use his or her medical cannabis while on probation. So, they took a progressive law protecting people using medical cannabis while on probation, and gutted it by turning around and granting the government the right to also prohibit medical cannabis usage. They granted the protection and turned around and effectively took it away with a slight of hand. They did that in the original law while now with this amendment they are moving to make it even easier to keep probationers from their medicine.
This new proposed wording in the law alleviates the burden on probation of even going through the motions of conducting a “substance abuse assessment” before the court prohibits the use of medical cannabis by the probationer. By removing this “assessment” step, courts can simply summarily order the probationer not use his or her medical cannabis while on probation without even the pseudo assessment. The new wording, allows the judge to prohibit medical cannabis if the court finds “any material evidence” that the prohibition of medical cannabis is “necessary and appropriate to accomplish the goals of sentencing.”
So, with this change the legislature has removed any pretense of investigating whether the person should be able to use his or her medical cannabis while on probation. Do not let anyone tout this law which on its face says a court may not prohibit the use of medical cannabis while on probation and then turns around and gives the court carte blanche to forbid its use. It makes me wonder who our legislators are looking out for or are they just trying to “look good”? Medical cannabis is important for some medical reasons, unless you are on probation; then you simply cannot use it and your medical conditions do not count until you are off probation. Got it.
