Colorado Lawmakers Want More Marijuana Industry Oversight

A group of Colorado lawmakers wants to increase oversight of the state’s marijuana businesses, but the cannabis industry is ready to fight the proposal.

Senate Bill 149, a nonpartisan bill introduced on March 7, proposes new reporting requirements for such marijuana business violations as sales to underage minors, contaminated product recalls and black market activity. The measure also calls on the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, the state’s regulator of marijuana businesses, to “balance the amount of influence that the marijuana industry has” on pot-related policy and rulemaking.

Proponents of the bill say that it’s intended to better protect Colorado children and align state policies more closely with alcohol and tobacco enforcement, but marijuana industry stakeholders worry that it’s an attempt to push for more restrictions on the business.

Colorado marijuana dispensaries passed underage sales checks at a 95 percent rate in 2021, according to the MED, slightly down from 97 percent in 2020 and 2019. But it’s not the pass-fail rate that concerns state Senator Chris Hansen. He wants more compliance checks at dispensaries, and he wants the names of offending stores to be made public.

“It doesn’t change regulation. It’s about making sure the MED has the resources they need to do these checks,” Hansen says. “It’s the availability and accessibility [of violation information], and putting it on par with what we’re doing in tobacco and alcohol.”
[Read more at Westword]