In January 2014, about 25,000 legal retail marijuana plants were grown in Colorado. By December, more than 215,000 recreational plants were lawfully cultivated.
The statistic was included in a recent Colorado Department of Revenue marijuana update released last week.
The report also revealed a dramatic increase in the number of occupational licenses, or badges, issued to marijuana employees. At the beginning of 2014, the state listed 6,593 cannabis workers. By the end of the year, the number of licensed personnel had more than doubled to 15,992.
“Helping to create more jobs is good for the economy,” said Garrett Smith, owner of The Herbal Alternative, a Cortez retail cannabis shop.
The job growth is reflected locally. Before being granted a retail license by city officials this year, The Herbal Alternative employed about a dozen people. Since then, the company has added four employees, Smith said.
The state also reported that of the 321 local jurisdictions in Colorado, more than 70 percent have prohibited medical and retail licenses as of Dec. 31, 2014. Colorado voters approved medical marijuana in 2010 and retail marijuana last year.
On Jan. 1, 2014, Colorado implemented a comprehensive regulatory model overseeing cultivation, manufacture and sale of recreational marijuana. Across the state, 67 total jurisdictions, or 20 percent, had issued medical and retail licenses at the end of 2014. Cortez has there are four combined medical and retail licensed marijuana shops.
Mayor Karen Sheek said she hadn’t received reports that support claims of increased crime rates and underage drug use because of the legalization of marijuana. She added there were lots of dangers in society, including alcohol, but no one is demanding that liquor stores be closed when a child gets caught drinking, for example.
“Regulating marijuana is better than driving it underground,” she said.
According to Smith, a majority of his retail customers are professionals over the age of 40. About half, he said, are out-of-state customers. Others from as far away as Europe and South America have also shopped at his business.
Illustrating a strong demand for marijuana edibles, the state’s report shows that nearly 2 million units of medical infused edible products were sold in Colorado last year, compared with nearly 2.9 million units of retail marijuana edibles. Medical edibles have no restrictions on the level of THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, but retail edibles are limited to 100 milligrams of THC.
“We are definitely selling more edibles than buds,” said Smith. “People are more intrigued about eating cannabis.”
DO Organics was recently approved for a retail marijuana license, but owner Jonny Radding said he was awaiting for one final building inspection. He hopes to offer retail sales later this month.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
Sheriffs seek to overturn Amendment 64
Six Colorado sheriffs are the latest to challenge Amendment 64 with a lawsuit.
Filed last week, the federal lawsuit against Gov. John Hickenlooper argues that Colorado marijuana legalization is prohibited under U.S. law. The lawsuit is the fourth to be filed against the state after voters approved cannabis reform measures in 2012.
The lawsuit challenges retail marijuana legalization using the country’s supremacy clause. The sheriffs want to overturn protections for marijuana use and possession as well as close all recreational marijuana stores. The state’s medical marijuana laws aren’t contested.
“This suit is about one thing — the rule of law,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a news release. “The Colorado Constitution mandates that all elected officials, including sheriffs, swear an oath of office to uphold both the United States as well as the Colorado Constitutions.”
Smith, Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day, Elbert County Sheriff Shayne Heap, Hinsdale County Sheriff Ronald Bruce, Kiowa County Sheriff Casey Sheridan and Delta County Sheriff Frederick McKee are each listed as plaintiffs. A number of law enforcement officials from Nebraska and Kansas have also joined the lawsuit.
Last December, Nebraska and Oklahoma appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Colorado’s marijuana law. Marijuana opponents Safe Streets Alliance also has two pending lawsuits challenging cannabis legalization.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced last year that it wouldn’t challenge on states that legalized retail marijuana.
Amendment 64 made it legal for adults to possess and grow marijuana and for licensed retail businesses to sell cannabis.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
2014 Colorado Cannabis Numbers
833: Total retail licenses
38,660: Pounds of retail marijuana sold
1,416: Total medical dispensaries
109,578: Pounds of medical marijuana sold
