Colorado’s retail marijuana industry – the first in the nation to open its doors – has always been in the spotlight. That spotlight got a little brighter Thursday.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo to all U.S. attorneys that overturned the Obama administration’s fairly permissive policies on marijuana enforcement. These previous policies, specifically the 2013 Cole memo, opened the door for Colorado — and the other seven states and the District of Columbia — to launch marijuana industries.
The Centennial State was the first state to open retail stores for adults in January 2014, after Colorado voters amended the state’s constitution in 2012 to legalize marijuana through Amendment 64.
Marijuana is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and the Cole memo did not change this. But the memo did give federal prosecutors permission to allow marijuana businesses to operate in states that allow them.
It’s not clear whether Thursday’s announcement will change current practice. Bob Troyer, the U.S. Attorney in Colorado appointed by President Donald Trump, issued a statement that his office has no plans to alter its approach to marijuana enforcement.
The Cole memo indicated that the federal government would not intervene in retail marijuana industry, provided that states set up “strong and effective” regulations to combat marijuana use by youth, cross-state trafficking, drugged driving and others.
Colorado appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain.
The rate of youth marijuana use has not changed since retail sales began in 2014.
In 2013, one of five Colorado high schoolers said they recently had used marijuana. Colorado high school usage climbed just one percentage point to 21 percent by 2015, according to the 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) recently released its 2015-16 estimates with similar findings. The percentage of teens ages 12-17 using marijuana decreased from 2013-14, when 12.6 percent of teens said they recently used marijuana. In 2015-16, just 9.1 percent said the same.
There is some cause for concern. Some students are more likely to use marijuana — those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, older or multiracial, according to the Healthy Kids Colorado survey. NSDUH data put Colorado above the national average for marijuana use for all ages. And Colorado youth are less likely to perceive marijuana as risky compared with their national peers.
Colorado collected over $211.4 million in state marijuana tax revenues in 2016-17, with $252.6 million estimated to be collected in 2017-18. The next spotlight will be on Colorado state legislators to fill this gap, should yesterday’s announcement slow or stall sales.