El Paso Board of County Commissioners voted to prohibit certain marijuana related activities in unincorporated El Paso County, including Falcon. Colorado constitutional amendment 64, approved state-wide in November 2012 and effective December 2012, allows individual counties and cities to regulate or prohibit retail outlets and commercial grow operations in their area.
Colorado and Washington were the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational use. According to the Colorado amendment, personal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would not be illegal under state law. Use of marijuana is permitted regardless of county or city action as long as it is consumed in a private residence or club, or otherwise not “conducted openly and publicly or in a manner that endangers others.” The amendment goes on to say individuals are also now allowed to grow up to three mature plants for their own use or to give as gifts without remuneration of one ounce or less to anyone 21 years of age or older.
Amendment 64 requires that the state legislature pass regulations on how to implement licensing for retail stores, commercial grow operations, product manufacturing and testing facilities by July 1. Cities and counties have until October 1 to pass regulations for their own areas, at which point the state will begin processing applications for retail and commercial licenses.
The El Paso BOCC acted quickly to exercise their right to limit the commercial aspect of Amendment 64. On December 12, 2012, only two days after the amendment went into effect, the board passed the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting the operation of marijuana cultivation facilities and retail marijuana stores in unincorporated El Paso County. On January 15, the second reading also passed, making the ordinance law for the county. Commissioner Peggy Littleton was the only opposing vote at each reading.
The ordinance text reads, “by making marijuana more readily available in the community and facilitating the recreational use of marijuana, presents a threat to the health and education of El Paso County’s children, to the safety of the workforce and to the public health, safety and welfare as a whole.”
The business community was a primary driver of encouraging the board to pass its regulations far in advance of the October 1 deadline. “The day after the [statewide] vote, we had companies we had been working with saying they were concerned. Hugely concerned,” said Joe Raso, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance, formerly known as the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. “How does this affect the employee – employer relationship? How does this affect our productivity? What legal rights does the employee have against the employer? And the answer is: we don’t know. Not good.”
The City of Colorado Springs has not passed any regulations limiting commercial marijuana activity. The county also passed regulations prohibiting use or possession of any marijuana on county properties, including parks. With individual use unaffected by the county ordinances, individual businesses also have started to clarify their own policies about use. “We allow tobacco smoking on the golf course. Only tobacco. We’ll be making that clear in our course rules,” said Wayne Reorda, operations manager of the Antler Creek Golf Course in Falcon.
Amendment 64 does not change federal laws against marijuana use or growing, commissioner Amy Lathen pointed out at the January meeting. Nor does it change current laws on medical marijuana dispensaries, which are also still only legal under Colorado law, not federal law.
