Search Results: hickenlooper (61)

After three years of trying and despite the science to back it up, the Colorado legislature finally passed a bill limiting the amount of THC a person can have in their system to 5 nanograms per-milliliter of blood.
House Bill 1325 received more than two-thirds support earlier today. If signed by the governor, the limit will be set in stone. According to Kristen Wyatt with the Associated Press, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has already asked for the bill so that he can sign it. Hickenlooper had campaigned for setting a limit over the last few months.
(An earlier edition of this post incorrectly stated the nanogram limit and has since been changed)

A greener New Hampshire.

New Hampshire has three different marijuana related bills for state legislators to consider this session, including two bills concerning recreational cannabis use and one allowing for medical marijuana in that state.
Currently, possession of any amount can net you a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Cultivation falls under sales and possession with intent to sell in that state and is based on weight. Anything over an ounce (roots, leaves, stalks and all) will get you seven years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Pakalert Press

Amendment 64 Officially Becomes Law; Gov. Hickenlooper Signs Voter-Approved Initiative 
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday signed an executive order formalizing Amendment 64 as part of the state Constitution and officially making the limited personal use, possession, and limited home-growing of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older.
The governor had until January 5 to sign the executive order, but he did so only four days after Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler certified the results from the November 6 general election. 
“Voters were loud and clear on Election Day,” Gov. Hickenlooper said, reports Patrick Malone at The Coloradoan. “We will begin working immediately with the General Assembly and state agencies to implement Amendment 64.”

David Stevens / Cheryl Shuman
Amendment 64 supporters Tuesday night celebrate the legalization of marijuana in Colorado

By Dr. Robert Townsend
         
“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will,” Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said in a written statement released by his office. “This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly.”
The voters have spoken indeed. Legalization in the face of federal law has passed by a large margin in two states, we added the 18th medical state, we nearly got a 19th in the South, and all ballot initiatives supportive of cannabis passed in Michigan. But like the Colorado governor demonstrates, there are many politicians rushing to smoke filled back rooms to try and figure out a way to circumvent the will of the voters. 
Is he isolated in his views? We see so many examples of politicians like Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and agencies like the Department of Justice, HUD, and the ATF doing everything they can to maintain the status quo of prohibition. Private employers hide behind federal law to discriminate against the sick, adopting the position that it is OK to show up to work stoned out of your mind on oxycontin, but if you used cannabis 3 weeks ago… welcome to the world of unemployment. 

Opposing Views

What do our servants in the federal government do when the voters have spoken? They promptly announce their intention to ignore the voters. At least, that’s what happens when it comes to the marijuana laws.

The citizens of Colorado and Washington may have thought the decision was theirs on whether to legalize cannabis — that they’d have the final say in the matter. But a spokesperson for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has other ideas.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged,” an agency spokesperson blithely told Reason this morning, Mike Riggs reports.

Wussup Hater

​Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper apparently doesn’t plan to sign a petition from Govs. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Chris Gregoire of Washington which asks the federal government to change the classification of marijuana, but Colorado will reportedly file its own request before the end of the year.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s spokesperson told Fox News that the governors have a valid point in pushing the petition, reports Scot Kersgaard at the Colorado Independent.

“The governors in Washington and Rhode Island raise a valid conflict that needs to be resolved,” said Eric Brown, a spokesman for Gov. Hickenlooper. “Colorado law requires that we make a similar ask of the federal government by Jan. 1. We will do that. We will also continue to consult with other governors on the issue and with Colorado’s attorney general before deciding whether anything else will be done.”

Photo: Real News Reporter
Big Pharma’s done such a good job being “consumer-friendly” and altruistic with all those other medications — why not let them in on Colorado’s medical marijuana market as well? (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

​A new Colorado law signed last week is causing lots of concern in the medical marijuana community — and given the track record of Big Pharma for throwing their weight around and buying politicians, there is plenty of cause for concern.
One clause of HB 1043, the “medical marijuana cleanup bill” signed by Governor John Hickenlooper last week, contains a potential loophole allowing out-of-state firms to get involved in the industry outside of dispensaries and grow operations, reports Michael Roberts at Denver Westword.

Photo: THC Finder

​A bill increasing restrictions on people in Colorado who drive after using marijuana took another step forward in the legislative process on Tuesday.

But the approval of House Bill 1261 by the state House of Representatives had some attendant drama, including a skirmish among the bill’s two sponsors, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.
HB 1261 [PDF] would create a limit on the blood-THC levels of drivers. Anybody who tests above an arbitrary amount, five nanograms per milliliter, would be considered too high to drive, much as someone with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent is considered too drunk to drive.
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