Audit - City and County of Denver

Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Regulatory HistoryIn 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, a constitutional amendment thatlegalized the medical use of marijuana for patients diagnosed with certain debilitatingmedical conditions. Although voters passed Amendment 20 in 2000, the GeneralAssembly did not establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for medical marijuanafor nearly a decade based in part on concerns about how a state system would operateunder federal law.Amendment 20 did not contemplate the possible existence of dispensaries but ratherfocused on requirements for patients to grow and cultivate medical marijuanathemselves or obtain it from individuals called primary caregivers. In response to thesubsequent surge of medical marijuana dispensary businesses within the state, theGeneral Assembly passed the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code in 2010. 3 The actestablished a system of statewide regulations governing the production and sale ofmarijuana for medical use. Federal law does not recognize the lawful use of marijuanafor any purpose. Nonetheless, eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passedstate laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana.To strengthen the legal framework for Colorado’s medical marijuana regulatory system,the General Assembly enacted a series of medical marijuana-related laws starting in2001. The state Departments of Revenue and Public Health share responsibility forimplementing the provisions of these laws. The most comprehensive legislation waspassed during the 2010 legislative session. 4The state’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division (MMED) is responsible for regulatingand licensing businesses that cultivate, manufacture, distribute, and sell medicalmarijuana in Colorado. As of October 2012, medical marijuana businesses arecategorized as follows:• Medical Marijuana Center. A center, or MMC, formerly referred to as aDispensary, is a retail business that sells patients medical marijuana or productsinfused with medical marijuana, such as edible products, ointments, pills, andtinctures. State statute also allows centers to sell up to six immature medicalmarijuana plants to patients. 5 In addition, a center can sell immature plants to aprimary caregiver, another center, or a medical marijuana-infused productsmanufacturer. 6• Grow Operation. A grow operation also known as an Optional PremisesCultivation Operation or OPC is a facility that grows and cultivates medicalmarijuana plants. A grow operation may be physically located adjacent to the3 House Bill 10-1284.4 House Bill 10-1284 and Senate Bill 10-109.5 C.R.S. § 12-43.3-402 (3).6 In the City and County of Denver, a Medical Marijuana Dispensary (MMD) was the only MM license before the state passed itsregulations.City and County of DenverP a g e 6