A timeline of marijuana laws in Colorado, Fort Collins
When cannabis became legal in Colorado more than a decade ago, it quickly turned into a cash cow with sales tax revenue piling up as if the state were printing money.
Here's a look back at how marijuana laws have evolved in Fort Collins and statewide.
Marijuana in Fort Collins
November 2010-March 2011: Temporary ban on any new medical marijuana facility.
March 2011: City adopted a licensing mechanism that included zoning and land use code definitions.
October 2011: City had 20 medical marijuana centers.
November 2011: A citizen-led measure banned all marijuana businesses.
Feb. 14, 2012: All marijuana businesses were shuttered.
November 2012: Citizen-initiated measure (301) passed allowing medical marijuana sales and use.
Cannabis law in Colorado
1975: Colorado decriminalizes marijuana. Colorado law reduced the penalty for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana to a petty crime punishable with a fine of $100. Harsher penalties remained for possession of more than one ounce.
1979: The state’s first medical marijuana bill was signed into law. The law permitted persons with certain medical conditions to use medical marijuana.
1996: Voters brought into effect Proposition 215. The bill permits the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana.
2000: Amendment 20, Colorado’s first medical marijuana law, authorized persons with debilitating medical conditions and their caregivers to use, possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana — two ounces of usable marijuana and not more than six plants. However, the public smoking of marijuana was prohibited.
2006: Amendment 44, Colorado’s first attempt to legalize the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for persons 21 and older, failed at the polls.
2009: Voters in Breckenridge voted yes to decriminalizing marijuana and possessing up to one ounce of marijuana for persons age 21 and older.
2010: Colorado’s second marijuana law, Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, created a dual licensing scheme to regulate medical marijuana businesses at the state and county levels. Breckenridge’s marijuana program came into effect. Lastly, the bill increased the limit for decriminalizing marijuana possession to two ounces.
2012: Amendment 64 passed, legalizing recreational marijuana for persons age 21 and older. Coloradans could purchase up to one ounce per transaction.
2013: Proposition AA came into effect, imposing a 25% tax consisting of a 15% excise tax and a 10% sales tax on recreational marijuana. Summit County imposed an additional 5% excise tax. Also, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed bill 1325 into law to regulate recreational marijuana. The bill puts a limit of THC at five nanograms per milliliter in a person's blood levels while driving.
2014: The retail sales of recreational marijuana began.
2020: House bill 1234 approved the commercial delivery of marijuana.
2022: House Bill 21-1317 came into effect. The bill changed the purchasing limit for recreational and medical marijuana to 8 grams per day for persons 21 and older. The bill limited purchase for persons age 18-20 to two grams per day.
2023: Senate Bill 23-265 extended Colorado’s marijuana-related protections for individuals by prohibiting regulators and professional bodies from revoking or denying professional licenses, registrations and certifications to working professionals due to past cannabis-related civil or criminal violations that are now currently legal in Colorado.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: A timeline of marijuana laws in Colorado, Fort Collins
