Two sources told Marijuana Moment that they’re aware of high-level discussions about bringing the MORE Act to the floor again next week, but nothing has been officially announced.
Nancy Mace is sponsoring that legislation, and she said in a recent interview that she’s received assurances from Democratic leaders that her States Reform Act will receive a hearing.
This means that supporters can begin collecting signatures, and if they collect enough signatures, the initiative will appear on this year’s ballot.
While recreational marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2012, it is against the law for dispensaries in Colorado Springs to sell recreational marijuana.
The only municipality in El Paso County that allows the sale of recreational marijuana is Manitou Springs, which has two dispensaries: Maggie’s Farm and Emerald Fields, according to the Manitou Springs website.
If the initiative were to make it on the ballot and pass, only existing medical marijuana dispensaries that already operate within Colorado Springs will be able to sell recreational marijuana.
If passed, people who buy recreational marijuana in Colorado Springs will pay the city a 5 percent tax, in addition to any other taxes imposed, according to the ballot language.
It specifies that the purchase and possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis would be legal for adults, and it would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces.
Past convictions for conduct made legal under the proposed law would be automatically expunged, and people currently serving time for such offenses would be eligible for resentencing.
To understand the effects of legalization on the state and its residents, the statutory bill would also establish various research initiatives, including studies into youth impacts, use patterns, impaired driving, advertising, labeling, quality control of products and barriers to entering the industry.
Possession of small amounts of cannabis would become a civil offense on January 1, 2023, punishable by a $100 fine for up to 1.5 ounces, or $250 for more than 1.5 ounces and up to 2.5 ounces.
Ferguson said last year that he favored legalizing cannabis through the legislature rather than waiting to ask voters on November’s ballot.
Clippinger replied that it’s important to carry out certain studies first, including those dealing with market disparities, before proceeding with more prescriptive regulations.
Hershey said he felt the legislation “doesn’t address what I really think people believe that they’re voting on when they vote on this question,” referring to the more simple HB 1 ballot proposal.
Sen.
Brian Feldman last month introduced SB 833, which would also ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis for adults.
Feldman’s 83-page bill would allow home cultivation of up to four plants per adult, with a maximum of eight plants per residence.
Jill Carter , would set higher possession amounts of up to four ounces of marijuana and would allow home cultivation of up to six cannabis plants.
When it comes to marijuana, legalization began to advance through Maryland’s legislature last session, but no votes were ultimately held.
Two years later, a decriminalization law took effect that replaced criminal penalties for possession of less than 10 grams with a civil fine of $100 to $500.
Also that year, the governor vetoed a bill that would have shielded people with low-level cannabis convictions from having their records publicized on a state database.
As for Maryland lawmakers, a House committee in 2019 held hearings on two bills that would have legalized marijuana.
National Institute on Drug Abuse Committee.
“Specifically in the United States, legalization by some states of marijuana has not been associated with an increase in adolescents’ marijuana use,” Volkow said in response to a question from Sen.
She also said earlier in her testimony that “one of the areas that we are most concerned of with the legalization of marijuana” is potential negative mental health consequences of cannabis use.
John Hickenlooper , who served as governor of Colorado in 2012, unsuccessfully tried to convince voters to reject a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, in large part because he worried it would encourage more use by young people.
There was “no change” in the rate of current cannabis use among high school students from 2009-2019, the survey found.