First marijuana bill of the session clears Colorado House
An employee at Denver Relief, a medical-marijuana dispensary, trims a marijuana plant for drying. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)
It wasn’t the Titanic-sized clash that is expected later this week when a marijuana driving bill gets debated — nor was it the Allure of the Seas -style behemoth of a bill expected later this year when recreational marijuana regulations drop — but the Colorado House on Tuesday passed its first marijuana-related bill of the session.
House Bill 1061 , dubbed the “Responsible Medical Marijuana Vendors” bill, would create a training program of sorts for medical-marijuana workers. Companies that want to run training schools for employees would apply to the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division for certification. If all of a dispensary’s employees complete a training course with a certified school, the state would then grant that dispensary a “responsible vendor designation.”
Basically, it’s a seal of approval, similar to a Better Business Bureau designation. There’s a similar program for liquor stores. The designation would be a mark in favor of the dispensary should the state bring an administrative action against it.
“It’s important that these medical-marijuana businesses be able to self regulate,” bill sponsor Rep. Dominick Moreno , D-Commerce City, said during a Feb. 7 committee hearing. “And we are able to deem which dispensaries are being responsible and which ones aren’t.”
Medical-marijuana business owners spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing, at the conclusion of which the bill passed unanimously. Before the full House on Monday for debate, the bill passed with little headwind. And the chamber made it official Tuesday, signing off on the proposal 55-9.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where a nearly identical bill passed last year before dying in the House.
Though the Colorado legislature is expected to be chock full of cannabis bills by the end of the session, it’s been a sleepy start. Part of the reason is the Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force , which is parsing through issues related to marijuana legalization. Lawmakers are giving the task force room to finish its proposals before pushing their own.
One other marijuana bill is currently moving through the legislature. That bill, House Bill 1042 , would allow medical-marijuana businesses to deduct business expenses on their state taxes, something they can’t do on their federal taxes. The bill cleared a House committee with unanimous support earlier this month.
Another bill, Senate Bill 51 , would require annual fire inspections of marijuana-growing facilities. It had been scheduled for a committee hearing, but was pulled back — apparently in deference to the task force.
