If you are caught in possession of up to two ounces of marijuana in Colorado, you will be charged with having committed a petty offence:

• You will be summoned to appear in court and, once you have given your promise to attend the hearing, you will be released from custody.  Maximum penalty is $100. If you fail to attend the court hearing, the charge will be increased to a misdemeanor.

• The penalty for public use or display of your < 2oz of marijuana attracts an added penalty of up to fifteen days in jail.

• Possession of more than two ounces of marijuana in Colorado is classed as a misdemeanor and attracts a penalty of six to eighteen months in jail plus a fine of $500 – $5,000.  Additionally, you will be required to pay $600 surcharge.

• Possession of greater than 8 ounces of marijuana in Colorado is a felony offense, the penalty for which is one to three years imprisonment together with a fine of $1,000 – $100,000.  The surcharge this time is $1,125.

• Repeated convictions of possession of over two ounces of marijuana in Colorado doubles the possible penalties.

• Gifting less than two ounces of marijuana in Colorado is classed as possession and is punished as such.

• Any other transfer, sale, manufacture or cultivation of marijuana in Colorado is a felony.  The penalty is two to four years in jail together with a fine of $2,000 – $500,000.  The surcharge is $1,500.

• To transport more than 100lbs of marijuana in Colorado attracts a penalty of anywhere between eight and twenty-four years in prison, together with a fine of $5,000 to $1,000,000.

• Any transfer of marijuana to a minor in Colorado is a felony attracting a jail term of two to four years in prison and a fine of $2,000 – $500,000.

• To sell marijuana within 1,000 feet of a Colorado school or public housing area will attract a jail term of eight to twenty-four years in prison together with a fine of $10,000 to $1,000,00.

Medical Marijuana Use in Colorado

Cannabis for medical use became legal in Colorado on June 1, 2001. Patients must be in possession of written documentation from their physician confirming that he or she suffers from a debilitating condition that “might benefit from the medical use of marijuana.”  This written evidence is then used in the registration process with the Colorado Board of Health.

The following illnesses are legally protected under the Colorado Medical Marijuana Act:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS positive
• Cachexia
• Severe pain
• Severe nausea
• Seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy
• Persistent muscle spasms, including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis
• Other conditions are subject to approval by the Colorado Board of Health

Amendments to Colorado Medical Marijuana Law

On June 7, 2010, HB1284 was signed into law and established state provisions regulating medical cannabis dispensaries.

The law requires that medical marijuana dispensaries are licensed at both state and local level and must pay a state licensing fee.  Dispensary operators are to cultivate, or oversee the cultivation of, at least 70% of the marijuana dispensed at the center.

HB1284 also imposed a statewide moratorium on the establishment of new dispensaries, although it allowed for Individual caregivers to provide medical cannabis for up to five patients in localities that have formally banned dispensaries.

Also on June 7, 2010, SB109 was signed into law.  This bill makes it compulsory that physicians can only recommend marijuana to patients with whom s/he has had a prior counselling relationship.

Contact Details for Colorado Medical Marijuana Law

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
HSVR-ADM2-A1
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
Phone:             303-692-2184

1. It would create a powerful marijuana industry, especially as opposed to the Alcohol and Tobacco industries.

California’s marijuana market is already the largest cash crop in the state at an estimated $14 billion annually.  This estimate only includes the marijuana itself and not all the ancillary industries a legal pot market would bring, from accessories (eg vaporizers, grinders, jars) to fashion, from tourism to retail, and all the incredible markets for marijuana’s non-drug cousin, industrial hemp. Legalization creates new job and business opportunities and opens the door for industrial use of hemp, which can be another powerful sector of growth. The growing medical marijuana markets in Colorado and California are already bringing in much needed tax revenue for many cities.

2. It would help the cops focus on real crimes like theft and violence, instead of who’s smoking what in the privacy of their homes.

It is estimated that including the arrest, jail, prison, court, and marijuana eradication costs, the US spends more than $3 billion dollars. Then there is the time and space we can’t afford in our overworked court system and overcrowded prisons. Marijuana legalization alleviates much of those problems while maintaining the current laws against irresponsible use of marijuana, such as driving under the influence and giving marijuana to kids.  Marijuana legalization focuses police priorities away from adults who enjoy marijuana responsibly and onto real crime.

3. It would cut down on the insane burden the War on Drugs is putting on our legal system.

In 2009, there were 858,408 marijuana arrests in the US. Imagine how much wasted money and effort our judicial system spends trying to stop people from doing something that isn’t harmful to themselves or others around them (unlike alcohol or tobacco).

As President Jimmy Carter acknowledged: “Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use.”

4. Amazingly, legalization of marijuana will decrease use among adolescents and teens.

In America, is easier for a high school teenager to buy marijuana on the street than it is for them to buy alcohol or tobacco from a connivence store. It might seem counter-intuitive to some, but illegal marijuana is much easier to acquire than regulated marijuana because weed dealers don’t check ID’s.

Listen, marijuana, like other drugs, is not for kids. There are many activities in our society that we permit adults to do, but not children, like driving a car, skydiving, getting married and drinking booze or smoking tobacco. However, we do not condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so. There’s no way you can justify putting an adult in jail because they like to engage in adult behavior.

5. Create a booming hemp industry, restoring this amazing plants utility and effectiveness.

Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. It is a tall, thin fibrous plant similar to flax. Farmers worldwide have harvested the crop for the past 12,000 years for fiber and food, and Popular Mechanics once boasted that over 25,000 environmentally friendly products could be derived from hemp.

More than 30 industrialized nations commercially grow hemp, including England and Canada. The European Union subsidizes farmers to grow the crop, which is legally recognized as a commercial crop by the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Nevertheless, US law forbids farmers from growing hemp without a federal license, and has discouraged all commercial hemp production since the 1950s.

6. Stop the profits of marijuana sales from going to violent criminals.

Prohibited marijuana brings with it the same problems as prohibited alcohol did – gangs and violence.  We don’t see bootleggers shooting up the streets over rum distribution any more.  We don’t see clandestine wine grape vineyards sprouting up in national forests.

7. Legalization will end the murderous drug war ‘cartel’ gangs in Mexico.

Many Latinos in the United States worry for the safety of friends and family back in Mexico.  Residents in northern border towns face violence and murder rates usually only found in war zones simply due to the contraband profits associated with selling illegal marijuana.  Law abiding Mexican citizens aren’t sure if their police officers and government officials are corrupted by the wealthy drug cartel gangs. The very stability in Mexico is threatened by marijuana prohibition.

8. Sick medical marijuana patients will no longer have to buy an expensive ‘recommendation’ from a doctor in order to get their plant medicine.

Currently a patient has to see a doctor and pay for a recommendation to use medical marijuana.  The person has to carry around that recommendation to prove medical use to the police.  A patient can designate a caregiver to grow for them or buy from a dispensary at grossly inflated prices.  After legalization, you can use marijuana simply because you decide to, no medical marijuana doctors, no notes.  Any number of your friends could be growing marijuana for you.

9. To end the disproportionate arrest and harassment of people of color.

Blacks in California’s 25 largest counties are arrested at rates two-to-four times greater than their white counterparts, despite whites using marijuana at greater rates. In the 25 largest cities, the arrest disparity ranges from twice-to-thirteen times the rates for whites.  Arrest rates for Latinos also exceed the rates for whites.  Legalization removes the probable cause for law enforcement to harass people of color for simply having marijuana on them.

10. To end street-level dealing of marijuana.

Marijuana’s profitability and rarity create the street-corner dealing that haunts many minority communities and utilizes youth to perform the transporting and selling of small amounts of pot.  The profit enriches gangs and leads to violent confrontations over turf.  Marijuana legalization will reduce the cost of marijuana and provide a regulated place to buy it that will undercut the street dealers.

Final Thoughts from NORML National Director Allen St. Pierre:

Despite the failure of Proposition 19 in November 2010, California has, to a certain extent, decriminalized marijuana. First offenses for possession of 28.5gms or less of cannabis in your residence or home will not attract a jail sentence or a criminal record; mostly it will be viewed in the same way as a minor traffic violation.

For possession of larger amounts of marijuana, or possession within the vicinity of a school, will attract penalties. Growing any amount of marijuana within California is viewed as a felony and attracts a maximum prison sentence of 3 years. (Unless you are growing as a caregiver, see below).

If you give somebody 28.5gms or less of marijuana as a gift, you will be fined a maximum of $100. Sale of any amount of marijuana is punishable by imprisonment with no fine.  Under 21-year-olds convicted of marijuana related offenses will lose their driving license for one year.

Medical Marijuana Use in California

• Possession: patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana and/or six mature cannabis plants. Twelve immature cannabis plants are allowed in place of the six mature ones. Only the dried mature processed flowers or buds of the female cannabis plant are allowed.
• Senate Bill 420: if a physician considers that the patient needs more than the allowed amount of marijuana to treat his medical condition this will be allowed.

• Cultivation: a person is acting as primary caregiver to more than one patient under section may aggregate the possession and cultivation limits for each patient. For example, if a caregiver is responsible for three patients, he or she may possess up to 24 oz. of marijuana (8 oz. per patient) and may grow 18 mature or 36 immature plants. Similarly, collectives and cooperatives may cultivate and transport marijuana in aggregate amounts tied to its membership numbers.
• Registration: Although verbal recommendations are technically permitted under Proposition 215, patients should obtain and carry written proof of their physician recommendations to help them avoid arrest. A state identification card is the best form of proof, because it is easily verifiable and provides immunity from arrest if certain conditions are met.

The next best forms of proof are a city- or county-issued patient identification card, or a written recommendation from a physician.

• Caregivers: The patient may designate a primary caregiver, who “has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety” of the patient.
• A person may serve as primary caregiver to more than onepatient, provided that the patients and caregiver all reside in the same city or county.  Primary caregivers also may receive certain compensation for “actual expenses, including reasonable compensation incurred for services provided.”

Recreational Marijuana Use in Alaska

Alaska has, to a certain extent, decriminalized cannabis.  First offenses for possession of 1oz or less of marijuana in your residence or home will not attract a jail sentence or a criminal record; mostly it will be viewed in the same way as a minor traffic violation.

Possession of larger amounts or sale of any amounts will attract penalties: the maximum penalty for possession is 5 years in jail and $50,000 fine; maximum penalty for supply is the same.

Medical Marijuana Use in Alaska

• Possession: patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than one ounce of usable marijuana.
• Cultivation: patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally cultivate no more than six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature.
• Registration: a confidential state-run patient registry issues identification cards to qualifying patients.
• Caregivers: caregivers must be no younger than 21 years and have never had a felony conviction connected with controlled substances.  The patient may list one primary caregiver and one alternate caregiver in the registry and caregivers may only be listed for one patient at a time. The chosen caregiver must be certified by the patient as being either the primary or alternate caregiver, “unless the primary caregiver or alternate caregiver is simultaneously caring for two or more patients who are related to the caregiver by at least the fourth degree of kinship by blood or marriage.”

To register with the Alaska Medical Marijuana Program, download the medical marijuana applicant package or contact:

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There is overwhelming evidence that cannabis relieves various medical conditions; unpleasant symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, pain and spasm, as well as the side effects of some prescription medicines. It is fact: marijuana is less toxic to the system than many pharmaceuticals.

A fact that informs the opinion of much of the medical establishment is the paucity of good quality research on the use of medical marijuana. Doctors are trained to mistrust anything that hasn’t been fully researched but there is a glaring problem here: the cultivation and possession of marijuana is illegal. Legalize marijuana and the research becomes possible.

Then we come to the specter of addiction. One oft-quoted study (University of Arkansas 2001) found that withdrawal from marijuana in heavy users gave rise to symptoms similar to those of nicotine withdrawal? But how were the participants in that trial taking their cannabis? If, as is the norm, they were smoking it, then the chances are they were smoking it alongside tobacco. Is it any wonder that symptoms were similar to those of nicotine withdrawal?

Users of medical marijuana are rarely heavy users and they can avoid the nicotine syndrome by vaporizing their herb.

Many opponents to legalization of medical marijuana believe that to legalize marijuana will erode the drugs-are-dangerous message that we try to instill in our children, leading to widespread use of not only cannabis but truly dangerous drugs such as heroin. Yet there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary: in states where medical marijuana is legal, the figures for teen use of cannabis have either remained stable or have followed a downward trend.

Then, there are our human rights: why shouldn’t we legalize marijuana, surely we have the right to make choices for and about ourselves unless there is evidence that our preference will cause harm to others. There is no proof of third-party harm being caused by users of marijuana, yet third-party harm is caused by substances such as tobacco and alcohol, both of which are lawful.

Challengers are apt to counter that children are likely to suffer from their parents’ marijuana use. Any suffering caused to a child, whether from excessive drug-use or any other parental activity, comes under the heading of child neglect and, therefore, there is no need for a specific marijuana law to enable prosecution.

And, finally, there is the ‘prohibition doesn’t work’ argument. We know from our own history that prohibition may actually worsen the situation; disallowed activities become exciting, something that is allowed every day loses its thrill. When an activity becomes legal, it becomes regulated – alcohol is a legal drug but it is far more difficult for youngsters to obtain than marijuana, which is readily available to most high school students. Didn’t we learn our lesson with alcohol prohibition, which failed miserably and led to gang culture and black market operations? Legalize marijuana, regulate it and provide good quality, freely available education as to its use.

The knock-on effect of black market activity and the punishment of marijuana users is expense: it costs an immense amount of money to seek out and punish those who break the marijuana law. Legalizing marijuana would not only save thousands of dollars, it would also create another income stream for the government in terms of taxes.

It’s not rocket science, is it?

We’ll leave you with some thoughts from Abraham Lincoln:

“Prohibition…goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”

2. Where Does the Word Marijuana come from?
“Marijuana” is a Mexican term for low-quality tobacco.

3. Who Uses Marijuana?
There is no typical marijuana user.

4. How Old is Marijuana?
The Chinese cultivated cannabis as a therapeutic and recreational drug over 4,700 years ago.

At the turn of the 20th century US pharmacies sold in excess of 20 cannabis containing medications, which were freely available until 1942. More than 20 medications containing marijuana were sold in U.S. pharmacies at the turn of the 20th century and, between 1937 and 1942 the US federal government taxed marijuana-containing medicines at $1 an ounce. In 1942, cannabis was removed from the US Pharmacopeia.*

5. Is Marijuana Addictive?
No. On a scale of relativity, cannabis is less habit forming than sugar or chocolate. It is more habit forming than anchovies though. Ten percent of the population have what is known as ‘addictive personalities’ but even they are neither more nor less likely to overindulge in cannabis than any other habit forming substance.

6. Can Smoking Marijuana Kill?
There has never been a case of somebody dying from marijuana. The following chart shows the deaths attributed to various substances for the year 1987:

1. Tobacco………………………….340,000 – 395,000
2. Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents)………….125,000+
3. Drug Overdose (prescription)…………24,000 – 27,000
4. Drug Overdose (illegal)……………….3,800 – 5,200
5. Marijuana………………………………………0

7. Does Marijuana Use Lead to Hard Drug Use?
No. This theory was discredited some time ago. The majority of marijuana users started out using drugs like sugar, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

8. Does Marijuana Use Lead to Violence?
No. Marijuana cannot change your basic personality, so if you’re violent, you will still be violent, if you’re a pacifist you will still be a pacifist.

9. Is Marijuana Bad for You?
Smoking tobacco is bad for you, so if you smoke your marijuana mixed with tobacco, yes it’s bad for you. Marijuana itself is not bad for you; in fact, it is a valuable medicinal herb. Vaporizing your marijuana removes the smoking risk.

10. Should Marijuana Users go to Jail?
No. Independent government panel that has studied marijuana has ever recommended jail for users.

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