Though it seems too easy to call an action “crazy,” many people opposed to Denver’s marijuana legalization campaign did indeed push it past last fall’s ballot on flawed grounds.
But the effort by supporters of retail marijuana outlets could be sunk by a ballot measure so broad that they are unable to separate themselves.
If that ballot measure wins support and becomes law, will the Marijuana Enforcement Division have the power to ban marijuana businesses that Colorado voters have endorsed? After all, they weren’t looking for an anti-local option. It’s written so broadly that voters in those cities that voted to allow retail marijuana on election day would have to get another vote in 2020.
Denver’s objective was to regulate the size of and hours of operation for marijuana shops and grow operations. That was both sensible and necessary. The large number of medical marijuana business licensing applications, for instance, means the process can’t be fast enough to handle every application. Among other requirements, the rule explicitly requires operating hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, with at least one day a week when doors are closed. At a time when Colorado is seriously underperforming in per capita employment, that sounds reasonable.
You’d think with such commonsense restrictions on recreational pot that a slim majority (51 percent) of Denver voters would want to affirm them. But instead voters approved last fall’s non-binding Ballot Question 2A-2E, a proposal to form a citizens’ commission that would recommend and then be responsible for setting limits on marijuana operations, including store size, hours of operation and location. In addition, the initiative would have the statutory power to ban even the opening of marijuana shops, at least in those cities that have not prohibited them on election day.
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