Two Cannabis Proposals Fail in Colorado

The Second Regular Session of the State Legislature is coming to an end, and there were two bills awaiting approval in the Senate. Both of them, however, came to an end. During the first week of May, a proposal to certify organic cannabis at the state level was not approved in a Senate committee. It lost by a vote of 4-3. Jack’s law, a proposal asking Colorado schools to allow medical marijuana by students, went through both the House and the Senate.

These bills do not seem large, but they are very important in the industry. They are vital because of the clashes between the federal and state government when it comes to cannabis and who can smoke it. HB16-1079, the proposal about organically certifying marijuana, was proposed in the middle of a long line of recalls for cannabis cultivated with pesticides that are considered dangerous or have not been approved.

The bill did not pass because of worries that an organic program run by the state would suggest that the government approves of using marijuana. These worries indicate the hard lobbying efforts against the proposal from anti-cannabis groups and the conventional farming industry. Representative Jonathan Singer states that this mixture results in “strange but effective bedfellows.”

“Unfortunately [the death of the bill] is going to mean that we will go another year without any sort of independent, verified organic designation,” Singer, a sponsor of the bill says. “Consumers have a right to know what they are putting in their body and people won’t have access to that information.”

“This is just a real case of people understanding that your right to an education should never be turned around for your right to medication and visa versa,” he adds. “There was not a dry eye in the room, and it just shows how people’s stories can really change policy and law in the state of Colorado. It may be one of the biggest highlights of the session. I don’t think I have ever seen another bill get so much broad bipartisan support so quickly.”