Amendment 64 – Use and Regulation of Marijuana

If passed, this ballot measure would add Section 16 to Article XVIII of the state constitution to

1)      regulate the personal use, possession, purchase and transport of up to 1 ounce of marijuana by persons 21 years of age or older,

2)      permit the state to regulate and tax marijuana businesses from cultivation to selling marijuana,

3)      prohibit advertising marijuana products and driving under the influence of marijuana,

4)      permit local governments to regulate marijuana operations provided there is no conflict with state law,

5)      direct the General Assembly to collect excise taxes and earmark the initial $40 million collected for a Public School Capital Construction Fund, and

6)      require the General Assembly to regulate the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp.

In 2000 Amendment 20, a citizen initiative to add Section 14 to Article XVIII of the state constitution, was passed by voters.  It allows people listed on a confidential state registry to use marijuana for certain medical conditions. 

In 2006 Amendment 44, a citizen initiative to change state statute, would have made it legal under Colorado law for persons 21 years of age or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.  The ballot measure did not pass.

 

Hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the cannabis plant. The US imports industrial hemp used in rope, clothing, building materials and food;  CO businesses could profit from growing hemp locally and selling it. 

Proponents say that marijuana is safer than alcohol and should be regulated and taxed like alcohol.  Currently, the state coffers get no financial benefit from marijuana sales in the black market. 

In addition to being opposed to marijuana use, opponents point out that federal laws prohibiting possession of marijuana do not go away if this measure passes; Colorado could spend a lot of time and money dealing with conflicts between state and federal laws.    Another legal issue: the directive to the General Assembly to set an excise tax probably violates TABOR (Article X, Section 20 of the state constitution).

Recommendation: NO

I’d prefer to argue Amendment 64 solely on the merits of its content, but changing the state constitution is a matter which should not be taken lightly.  The sponsors of this measure could have proposed a statutory change as the sponsors of Amendment 44 did.  Please note that Article XVIII of the state constitution which would get a new section under this measure is entitled “Miscellaneous” – yet another indication that this doesn’t need to be a constitutional amendment. 

We never had a US constitutional amendment about alcohol until Amendment XVIII denied people the right to drink it.  Later, to undo Amendment XVIII, the US passed Amendment XXI. 

Amendment 64 should be rejected and reappear next year as a proposition (statutory change) allowing the General Assembly to make adjustments if needed rather than go to the voters for changes.  We are just asking for more constitutional amendments in the future to fix issues caused by this one.  

The text to be added to the state constitution takes up 11 full pages in the Blue Book and refers to the Colorado Administrative Procedure Act, the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, Title 22 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, etc., not to mention a dollar amount to be updated annually.  We shouldn’t have this level of detail in the CO constitution.

The industrial hemp part of the proposed ballot measure seems like a no-brainer.  If Amendment 64 gets rejected by voters, then the General Assembly should address the issue of industrial hemp anyway.

Website for the Yes Side

(Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol)

http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/

Website for the No Side

(Smart Colorado)

http://votenoon64.com/

Amendment 64 (CONSTITUTIONAL) (Approved Ballot Language)

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning marijuana, and, in connection therewith, providing for the regulation of marijuana; permitting a person twenty‐one years of age or older to consume or possess limited amounts of marijuana; providing for the licensing of cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, testing facilities, and retail stores; permitting local governments to regulate or prohibit such facilities; requiring the general assembly to enact an excise tax to be levied upon wholesale sales of marijuana; requiring that the first $40 million in revenue raised annually by such tax be credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund; and requiring the general assembly to enact legislation governing the cultivation, processing, and sale of industrial hemp?

‐Yes

‐No

To see the full text of the proposed measure, click below, then click on “2012 Blue Book” at the top of the page.

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CGA-LegislativeCouncil/CLC/1200536134742

To see the full text of Amendment 20, passed by the electorate in 2000, click here.   (Note: The link does not go to a government website.  If you prefer a government website, you can get the text from the 2000 Blue Book under Historical Ballot Information on the Blue Book website.)

http://www.nationalfamilies.org/guide/colorado20-full.html