Marijuana Legalization in Colorado, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The prohibition of marijuana in the United States dates back to the early 20^th century, when states across the country were beginning to enact legislation aimed at restricting or prohibiting the sale and use of a variety of substances classified as narcotics. The process of implementing marijuana was shaped as much by political forces as it was by reasonable public-health concerns; drugs such as marijuana and “harder” drugs such as heroin and cocaine were often associated with disreputable segments of society. Concurrent with the move towards prohibition of marijuana, the temperance movement was successfully moving the country closer to the prohibition of alcohol, which was eventually enacted at the federal level. While alcohol prohibition only lasted for a few years, marijuana and other drugs have largely remained illegal; it is only within the last decade or so that a widespread push for the decriminalization and legalization of medical and recreational marijuana has begun to meet with mainstream acceptance. Beginning in 2014, the state of Colorado implemented legislation making recreational marijuana use legal for adults, ushering in a new era of state-level drug policy in the United States. The following paper traces the advent of the legalization effort, examining the evolution in political, public health, and legal policies that conspired to pave the way for such a paradigm shift in marijuana laws.

Background and Overview

The criminalization of marijuana began in the United States began in the early 20^th century as part of a larger social movement towards implementing controls and restrictions on the use of various pharmaceutical ingredients and preparations. It was not uncommon for elixirs and potions to be marketed as cures or treatments for a wide variety of afflictions, and many of these products contained ingredients that were not listed on the labels. Moreover, the dosages of these secret ingredients were often uncontrolled and inconsistent, leading to a number of public health issues including overdoes and dependence  (norml.org, 2014). Hemp, as marijuana was known at the time, was often used in such preparations and also grown for personal use, and it, along with a number of other drugs, was targeted by legislators and law enforcement beginning in the 1910s and 1920s. Along with the public health concerns about drug use, social and political factors affected the push for criminalization. By the 1930s the use of hemp for smoking became widely associated with Mexican immigrant laborers, and the name “marijuana,” a slang term used by these laborers, fell into more common usage (norml.org, 2014). Anti-immigrant sentiment during the Great Depression helped to cement the association of “marijuana” with Mexican laborers and other easily-targeted segments of society.

The 1937 Marijuana Tax imposed de facto illegality on marijuana by making its production and sale prohibitively expensive  (norml.org, 2014) . Marijuana could still be used for medical purposes under some tight restrictions, but the cost and administrative controls involved were too onerous for most physicians and researchers. With these new restrictions in place, marijuana had effectively been shunted out of the mainstream, and would continue to be criminalized to varying degrees for the rest of the century. Despite the laws against the production and use of marijuana, it remained popular among some segments of society, and began to grow in popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. The so-called counterculture movement of the 1960s fueled an explosion in popularity for marijuana, a phenomenon which largely paved the way for the decriminalization and legalization movements that gained strength a generation later.

President Nixon and the “War on Drugs”

In the early 1970s, however, the administration of President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs;” as part of this war, a new classification “schedule” was developed which classified marijuana as a dangerous drug alongside narcotics such as cocaine and heroin  (norml.org, 2014) . In 1973 the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was formed, and was tasked with combating what Nixon and others saw as a growing drug problem in the United States. This was a period of great social upheaval playing out against the backdrop of the unpopular Vietnam War. The growing protest movement against the war was playing out on college campuses and other public spaces across the country, and drugs like marijuana and LSD were increasingly popular with younger members of society. This popularity was seen as a significant threat by law enforcement and government, and the efforts to eradicate drugs played a central role in the tension between these opposing social and political forces.

Over the course of the next two decades the laws against marijuana at the state and federal levels became more restrictive, and included mandatory sentences and three-strikes laws that often saw simple possession charges leading to long prison terms. As early as the late 1970s, however, some stage governments began to reconsider the value in harsh criminal punishments for some marijuana-related offenses, and the slow move towards decimalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana was underway. The state of Californian was the first to reduce possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor, a change that presaged the rising popularity of decriminalization efforts that would arise in the 1990s.

Medical Marijuana and the Birth of the Legalization Movement

While the first steps towards decriminalization started when states and municipalities began to reduce the punishments for possession of small amounts of marijuana, it was the advent of the medical marijuana movement that underpinned the current legalization efforts. In the late 1970s a number of patients sued the federal government, demanding that they be allowed to use marijuana to treat various afflictions, including glaucoma. Armed with studies demonstrating the efficacy of marijuana use for the relief of symptoms related to a number of disorders, these and similar lawsuits opened the door for widespread medical marijuana use in later years (DuPont, 2012). The early efforts related to medical marijuana, however, produced limited results; in most instances only the plaintiffs in individual successful lawsuits were permitted to use marijuana. The success of these outcomes, however, prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the process of establishing gaudiness for the use of medical marijuana.

As the medical marijuana movement was gaining momentum, a concurrent movement to decriminalize or legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes had long since been underway. Support for recreational marijuana came from a variety of quarters; nonprofit organizations such as NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) which advocated for legal and social change related to marijuana typified the legalization movement. Support for legalization also came from within the ranks of law enforcement, as exemplified by the organization LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) which argues that the legal, social, and economic tolls wrought by drug prohibition outweigh any potential benefits (Cole, 2009). The burgeoning medical marijuana and decriminalization movements slowly but inexorably eroded public support for harsh marijuana laws; by the end of the 20^th century medical marijuana had become legal in California, a harbinger of similar changes to come in other states.

Medical Marijuana in Colorado

Although marijuana has recently been legalized for adult recreational use in Colorado, it remains illegal under federal law. As has been the case in states where medical marijuana use has been allowed, this sets up a notable tension between state and federal law enforcement. In states that allow the use of medical marijuana laws, the federal government has largely taken a hands-off approach; though federal law enforcement agencies have raided some dispensaries and manufacturers, the overall number of prosecutions related to medical marijuana have been low. With the advent of full legalization in Colorado, Washington, and Alaska new legal issues have been raised, though it seems too soon to say with certainty how these issues will play out.

The move towards full legalization of marijuana in Colorado has been evolving since 2000, when the state passed its first medical marijuana law in the form of an amendment to the state’s Constitution. Amendment 20, article XVIII, section, 14 “effectively legalized limited amounts of medical marijuana for patients and their primary caregivers” (sensiblecolorado.org, 2014). This amendment typifies the ongoing tension between legislators and marijuana users; the laws allowing the use of medical marijuana have largely been worded to demonstrate something less than full permission for use, instead indicating that existing laws against marijuana use will not be enforces against those who demonstrate a medical need for its use. Lawmakers have long been inclined to stop short of offering full-throated support for medical or recreational marijuana, but in the past fourteen years Colorado legislators have slowly propped open legal doors through which users have passed.

As is the case with current laws regarding recreational marijuana, Colorado’s medical marijuana laws place limits on the amounts patients may possess. Amendment 20 allowed patients to possess up to two ounces of a “usable form of marijuana” –i.e.- marijuana that has been harvested and prepared for smoking or ingestion- and “no more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature, flowering plants that are producing a usable form of marijuana” (Amendment 20, Colorado State Constitution). There were no proscriptions for the dispensation of marijuana beyond these regulations on personal use, but patients, caregivers, and growers began to develop informal networks for the purpose of supplying small amounts of medical marijuana to those who needed it. These networks paved the way for medical marijuana dispensaries, as the networks grew larger and more organized. Such dispensaries were technically illegal, and operators and patients were testing the limits of the law and of law enforcement. Under pressure from the DEA, Colorado banned dispensaries from supplying marijuana to more than five patients (sensiblecolorado. org, 2014)

In response to this legislation a number of individuals and pro-marijuana activist organizations filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado, asserting that the 5-patient limit was an arbitrary number. With the group Sensible Colorado leading the fight, the lawsuit was eventually decide in favor of the dispensaries, and in 2007 the limits to the number of patients a dispensary could serve was lifted. With this victory secured, dispensaries began opening in store fronts and other commercial-type spaces, though the distribution of marijuana was still limited to patients who used marijuana under the prescription or direction of a physician. As the dispensaries moved out of homes and private spaces into shops and store fronts, the state again attempted to limit their operations. The state utilized the rule-making processes of the state Board of Health to try re-asserting the five-patient limit; when that was unsuccessful the dispensaries had largely cemented their status as legal operations.

In 2009 the U.S. Justice Department issues a memorandum reasserting its position against marijuana, but also stating that it would “not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana” (justice.gov, 2009).  With the assurance that the federal government would leave them alone, dispensaries began to open in larger numbers across the state. Subsequent state legislation such as HB 10-1284 and SB 10-109 were passed to redress some of the shortcomings in Amendment 20, which did not expressly allow the operation of commercial dispensaries for medical marijuana (State of Colorado: Department of State, 2012).  The specifics of these bills established a wide range of rule, guidelines and restrictions related to the production, wholesale distribution, and public dispensation of medical marijuana. The rules covered a variety of different forms of marijuana, from edible candies and foods containing marijuana among their ingredients to more common smokable forms of marijuana.

This and other related legislation also established guidelines related to licensing for producers and distributors, and determined the limits and restrictions on where and how many dispensaries could operate. It also gave individual municipalities the right to further restrict or ban outright the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries within their jurisdictional limits. Wirth the passage of these laws, medical marijuana use and the dispensaries which supplied it to patients had all become legal under Colorado state law. This apparently did not sit well with federal authorities; in 2011 the U.S. Justice Department moved to redefine the assertions of earlier memoranda, and declared that dispensaries were an inappropriate expression of the caregiver model (justice.gov, 2011). This move by the Justice Department was not, however, matched with legal action, and to date the federal authorities have made little effort to combat the medical marijuana laws in Colorado.

Amendment 64

Buoyed by the successes of the medical marijuana movement, supporters of recreational marijuana mounted a campaign to make marijuana legal for adult recreational use (Kktv.com, 2014). Several pro-marijuana activist groups, including the Marijuana Policy Project and Sensible Colorado drafted legislative proposals for a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana. After garnering public support through petitions, a ballot initiative was put up for public vote in November 2012. The ballot measure was successful, and the measure was codified into law as Article 18, section 16 of the Colorado State Constitution (Colorado.gov, 2012). With the passage of this amendment, Colorado became the first state in the United States and the world to make recreational marijuana legal for adults age 21 and over.

The laws pertaining to the legal use of recreational marijuana in Colorado were largely shaped around the same sets of rules and guidelines governing the production and sale of medical marijuana (Flatow, 2013). The laws provide rules and restrictions on the cultivation of marijuana, the production of various commercial preparations, the distribution at the wholesale level, and retail sales.  On January 1, 2014, recreational marijuana became available for sale to adults in Colorado. Despite the passage of this amendment, however, marijuana is still illegal according to federal law, a situation which has been problematic for cultivators and retail operations alike. One of the primary concerns for these businesses is that banks have been unwilling to open commercial accounts for growers and shops out of fear of federal prosecution for money-laundering (norml.org, 2014). The U.S. Justice Department has recently indicated it will forgo such prosecutions for banks and businesses operating according to state law, though it remains to be seen whether this detente will hold.

The Future of Marijuana Legalization in the U.S.

Along with Colorado, the states of Washington and Alaska have also passed legislation making recreational marijuana legal. It is too soon to tell whether this is indicative of a trend, or if other states will choose not to adopt similar laws. It is likely that these three states will serve as de facto test cases, and that other states will wait to assess the success or failure of legalized marijuana before making any decisions about legalization. It is also unknown whether the U.S. Justice Department will continue to take a hands-off approach to enforcement in those states that have legalized marijuana. It does seem clear, however, that the tide is turning in terms of public perception of marijuana. A Recent Congressional bill proposes that federal marijuana laws be changed to allow it to be regulated in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco, a sign that long-standing prohibitions of marijuana are beginning to crumble. That could change if the new laws in Colorado and elsewhere result in undesirable outcomes; for now, however, an historical end to a long-standing prohibition has arrived.

References

Cole, J. (2009). “End Prohibition Now!”. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Retrieved from http://www.leap.cc/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/End_Prohibition_Now.pdf

Colorado.gov,. (2012). Governor John Hickenlooper – Gov. Hickenlooper signs Amendment 64 proclamation, creates task force to recommend needed legislative actions. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovHickenlooper/CBON/1251634887823

DuPont, R. (2012). White Paper on State-Level Proposals to Legalize Marijuana. Asam.org. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://www.asam.org/docs/publicy-policy-statements/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana-final2773DD668C2D.pdf?sfvrsn=2#search=”medical marijuana”

Flatow, N. (2013). Six Ways Colorado Will Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Thinkprogress.org. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/29/2070641/five-ways-colorado-will-regulate-marijuana-like-alcohol/

Justice, T. (2009). Memorandum for Selected United State Attorneys on Investigations and Prosecutions in States Authorizing the Medical Use of Marijuana « Office of Public Affairs. Blogs.justice.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://blogs.justice.gov/main/archives/192

Kktv.com,. (2014). Gov. Signs Marijuana Bills Into Law. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://www.kktv.com/news/elections/headlines/Gov-Signs-Marijuana-Bills-Into-Law-209206671.html

Norml.org,. (2014). NORML.org – Working to Reform Marijuana Laws. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://norml.org/

Sensiblecolorado.org,. (2014). History of Colorado’s Marijuana Laws – Sensible Colorado. Retrieved 26 April 2014, from http://sensiblecolorado.org/history-of-co-medical-marijuana-laws/

State of Colorado: Department of State,. (2012). Statement of Sufficiency: Initiative 2011-2012 #30. Denver.