Marijuana to your doorstep? Deliveries could be a reality if Colorado bill becomes law

DENVER – Users of both medical and recreational marijuana in Colorado would be able to get their product delivered directly to their doorstep if a proposed bill in the state Legislature becomes law.

Senate Bill 192 would allow medical and recreational pot shops in the state to apply for endorsements that would allow them to transport marijuana to individuals across the state.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, Rep Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont and Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora.

The shops would only be able to deliver medical marijuana to medical patients and to deliver recreational pot to people aged 21 and over.

If a medical patient is under age 21, their parent would be able to purchase the product for delivery. The one-ounce limit for purchases of flower cannabis would remain in place for recreational users and the two-ounce limit would still apply to medical patients.

The bill also contains extensive language regarding the endorsements shops would receive. Thy would have to apply for a delivery endorsement each year, which would be approved by the state licensing board.

The bill also requires any shops that receive an endorsement to train their delivery employees and to keep track of the amounts sold and to whom they were sold to, and requires all current labeling, packaging and transportation guidelines be met.

Delivery endorsements for medical shops would go into effect Jan. 2, 2018, and endorsements for recreational shops would go into effect a year later, on Jan. 2, 2019.

The bill also contains safeguards for recreational marijuana shops that may be subject to possible federal crackdowns in the future.

Recreational shops would be able to obtain a single-instance transfer authorization form the state licensing authority to transfer all of its product to a medically-licensed facility “based on a business need due to a change in local, state, or federal law or enforcement policy.” The transfer would have to be made within 6 months of its approval.

The bill also would change the frequency of the determination of the average wholesale market rate for marijuana from twice a year to each quarter. The bill would establish a different market rate for marijuana meant for processing and unprocessed marijuana.

All would be used to calculate state excise taxes. Local taxes would still apply for deliveries.

The bill is set for its first committee hearing March 1 in the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee. Oregon has rules similar to those in the bill in place already.