In order to understand the process we went through to regulate adult-use cannabis in Colorado, it is important to understand Colorado’s journey regarding medical marijuana regulation. We experienced some challenges while we were trying to get our arms around the medical marijuana regulatory process, as was to be expected. I’ll tell you how we worked through them, and how we applied the lessons learned when we rolled out Amendment 64.
On November 7, 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 by 54% of the vote. If you are from Colorado, that percentage should sound familiar. Colorado was on the forefront of the movement making medical marijuana legal – only four years after California voters approved California Proposition 215.
Click here to read Amendment 20
Amendment 20 Was Just The Beginning
- It didn’t specifically make medical marijuana legal;
- It allowed doctors to recommend medical marijuana for patients with a debilitating medical condition;
- It required patients to register with the state health agency (now Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE);
- Patients were issued a medical marijuana card – called a “red card” due to the red ink used on the card;
- Initially, patients were limited to no more than two ounces of a usable form of medical marijuana and no more than six plants – unless the doctor determined excess quantities were medically necessary; and
- Either the patient or a caregiver could grow the plants.
Amendment 20 Left Work For The Executive Branch
You might be wondering why some of the terms are underlined, right? Those terms were not defined in the Amendment and would prove to be the subject of some debate as time moved on.
By June 1, 2001, the state health agency was required to promulgate rules regarding the administration of the patient registry, and how the agency would consider adding other debilitating medical conditions to the list. In March of 2001, the Colorado Board of Health approved administrative rules and in June of 2001 the Registry was ready to accept and process applications for medical marijuana cards.
Upcoming Discussions
In the next few posts, I’ll discuss where those Green Crosses came from and the impetus to HB10-1284 – the legislation that created the commercial medical marijuana model.