denver city council marijuana legal and policy options

7/27/2019 Denver City Council Marijuana Legal and Policy Options

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Denver voters have said YES to stateDenver voters have said YES to stateDenver voters have said YES to stateDenver voters have said YES to stateand local marijuana initiatives fiveand local marijuana initiatives fiveand local marijuana initiatives fiveand local marijuana initiatives fivetimes since the year 2000,times since the year 2000,times since the year 2000,times since the year 2000, butbutbutbut . . .. . .. . .. . .

. . . each time voters were assured that. . . each time voters were assured that. . . each time voters were assured that. . . each time voters were assured thatmarijuana consumption would bemarijuana consumption would bemarijuana consumption would bemarijuana consumption would belawful only to the extent it was donelawful only to the extent it was donelawful only to the extent it was donelawful only to the extent it was donediscreetly and privately.discreetly and privately.discreetly and privately.discreetly and privately.


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No patient shall: . . . Engage in the medical,

place open to, the general public.


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Shall the voters of the City and County of

Denver adopt an amendment to the Denverev se un c pa o e a wou ma e

legal the private use and possession of oneounce or less of marijuana for any person

21 years of age or older?


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offenses.offenses.offenses.offenses. The following marijuana offenseswill continue to be illegal under state law ifAmendment 44 passes: . . . open and publicdisplay, use, or consumption of marijuana


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Shall the voters for the City and County of Denver adoptan ordinance to the Denver Revised Municipal Code thatwould make the private use and possession of marijuana

by persons 21 years of age and older the Citys lowestlaw-enforcement priority?

The Denver police department and the city attorneysoffice shall make the investigation, arrest and prosecutionof marijuana offenses, where the marijuana was intendedfor adult personal use, the citys lowest law enforcement

priority. . . . Adult personal use is defined as thepossession of less than one ounce of marijuana by anadult at least 21 years of age, where the marijuana is notused or displayed in public.


7/17

. . .. . .. . .. . . the following acts are not unlawful and shall not be anoffense under Colorado law or the law of any locality . . .

Possessing, using, displaying, purchasing, or transporting

marijuana accessories or one ounce or less of marijuana.

Possessing, growing, processing, or transporting no more thansix marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature, floweringplants, and possession of the marijuana produced by the plantson the premises where the plants were grown, provided that thegrowing takes place in an enclosed, locked space, is not

conducted openly or publicly, and is not made available for sale.

Consumption of marijuana, provided that nothing in this sectionshall permit consumption that is conducted openly and publiclyor in a manner that endangers others.


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Nothing in this section shall prohibit a

person, employer, school, hospital, detention

occupies, owns or controls a property fromprohibiting or otherwise regulating thepossession, consumption, use, display,

transfer, distribution, sale, transportation, orgrowing of marijuana on or in that property.


9/17

C.R.S.:C.R.S.:C.R.S.:C.R.S.: a person who openly and publicly displays, consumes, oruses two ounces or less of marijuana commits a drug pettyoffense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fineof up to one hundred dollars and up to twenty-four hours of

.

D.R.M.C.:D.R.M.C.:D.R.M.C.:D.R.M.C.: It shall be unlawful for any person to openly andpublicly display or consume one (1) ounce or less of marihuana.

Before Amendment 64, a person detected consuming a smallquantity of marijuana could be cited for simple possession; nowthat mere possession is no longer a criminal offense under stateand city laws, it is necessary to clarify open and public.


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The Task Force . . . was unable, within the timeframeof its work, to come to agreement about definingopenly and publicly as these terms relate to the

consumption of marijuana. This is an important,

for allowing or prohibiting consumption of marijuanain various venues.

. . . the Colorado General Assembly must define

what is meant by open and public consumption ofmarijuana in order to allow or prohibit consumptionin different venues and give clear guidance to lawenforcement officers.


11/17

The Task Force had extensive discussions onpossible scenarios where citizens might smoke oringest marijuana and whether these could be

considered open and public, in which caseconsump on s ou e pro e . or some venues,such as front and back porches, decks, and yards inprivate homes where members of the public couldclearly view and smell residents smoking marijuana

or consuming edible marijuana products, there wasdisagreement about whether these venues are bothopen and public and, consequently, whetherresidents may smoke or consume marijuana there.


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The General Assembly did not further defineopenly and publicly, either in terms of

marijuana consumption or private marijuanacultivation.

They adopted an open container law formarijuana in private vehicles (modeled afterliquor)

They extended the Colorado Clean Indoor Air actto apply to marijuana smoking.


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Purely public propertyPurely public propertyPurely public propertyPurely public property (government owned facilities suchas parks, sidewalks, etc)

Public plus quasiPublic plus quasiPublic plus quasiPublic plus quasi----public propertypublic propertypublic propertypublic property (private property that isgenerally open to members of the public such as stores,restaurants, congregate facilities, etc.)

PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate----totototo----PublicPublicPublicPublic (consumption on private propertyperceptible to persons on public property.)

*Private*Private*Private*Private----totototo----privateprivateprivateprivate (consumption on private propertyperceptible to person on other private property)


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SightSightSightSight (e.g. aesthetic regulations, sign laws, publicindecency laws, etc.)

. .

SmellSmellSmellSmell (e.g., It shall be an unlawful nuisance for anyperson to cause or permit the emission of odorous aircontaminants from any source so as to result in detectable

odors that leave the premises upon which they originatedand interfere with the reasonable and comfortable use andenjoyment of property. 4-10 D.R.M.C.)


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Unlawful to consume alcohol in any public place,except upon licensed premises where on-siteconsumption is allowed. (Liquor Code does notdefine public place.

vehicles, with exceptions.

Unlawful to possess or consume in city parks, exceptwhere permit has been granted. (Prohibition does

not include 3.2 beer.)

Absolutely no restriction on adult consumption ofalcohol on residential or other private property.


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Codifying a broad definition of openly and

publicly

Outright prohibition of display and possession ofmarijuana in city parks and on the 16th StreetMall

Repeal of obsolete lowest law enforcementpriority language

denver city council marijuana legal and policy options

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