Colorado-Medical-Marijuana-Blog

With the laws in Colorado regarding medical marijuana dispensaries changing more often than a traffic light at a busy intersection, dispensary owners are finding themselves in a constant state of stress trying to keep themselves in compliance with regulations. And with those changing laws comes an influx of business owners to state agencies looking to renew licensing and keep in compliance, while agency workers are finding themselves overwhelmed with requests. Many business owners, after waiting nearly six hours in line at the Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, found themselves leaving without a renewal. With so many business owners rushing to comply with state regulations before cutoff dates, the state is finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for renewals. In light of this struggle to keep in compliance, most state officials are being lenient when it comes to those trying to update equipment and renew licenses per the new laws. However, some business owners still remain concerned that with all the strict rules being put in place, it may all be in vain if tighter security keeps customers away.

Although medical marijuana in Colorado and some other states has been legalized, basic marijuana use across the country continues to remain illegal. At a recent online town hall meeting held at the White House, President Obama responded to questions regarding the overall legalization of marijuana.

President Obama’s reply, while jovial, was that legalization of the drug was not a good economic strategy would probably not be useful in turning the economy around. Marijuana legalization was a very small portion of the overall discussion which included universal healthcare, mortgages, education, the auto industry and veteran’s care. The President hopes to hold more of these online town hall type discussions in the future.

Although Colorado medical marijuana laws may eventually fall under the same scrutiny as other states across the nation, for the time being medical marijuana dispensaries remain safe from the prospect of raids by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

As directed by Attorney General Eric Holder, federal agents will concentrate their efforts mainly on distributors who violate both state and federal laws. Medical marijuana growers adhering to state laws will not be a priority of the new administration. This is a step away from the policies of the old Presidential administration which tended to target all medical marijuana growers.