Colorado is doubling the amount a person can legally possess

It's possible Colorado will end up allowing double the amount of legal cannabis possession, but HB 21-1090 is still making its way through the state legislative process. The next step for the bill was a Senate committee hearing on April 22nd, at which the bill was passed according to NORML. HB 21-1090 was originally introduced by Democrat Alex Valdez, and when it goes into effect it will raise the ownership limit for individuals to up to two ounces. It will also allow former cannabis offenders charged with poor ownership and cultivation to try to erase their files. So far, the bill has been passed by 45 votes to 19 in the House of Representatives and has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Valdez believes it will go all the way through. "It should come pretty quickly, given that it was pretty free from controversy," Valdez said. "I think marijuana issues in general are starting to be bipartisan, but we've also got some of the more conservative people to vote for it, which really shows." Specifically, HB 21-1090 would seal the crimes of growing cannabis in class 3 - that is, crimes for growing 12 to 25 plants. Growing more than 12 plants would still be illegal without an expanded plant count provided through a medical cannabis card, and pharmacy purchases would still be limited to one ounce per day unless the Marijuana Enforcement Division decides to change their rules. Still, it would be a big step for the already thriving cannabis industry. While Valdez's goal is to automate the document shredding process in Colorado, he wasn't sure if it would be financially feasible so soon after the economic impact of COVID. The record-sealing process will include a petition to a judge. Each person and their allegations are "viewed in their own way" by the judges. "It allows them to file a petition directly with a judge instead of getting the prosecutor's signature," Valdez said. "It's going to be very legal-eagle because district attorneys obviously want to preserve their ability to have controls over there." This proposal would only apply to local convictions, as opposed to the state convictions that Governor Jared Polis has already pardoned. However, he only pardoned convictions of one ounce, keeping to the legal limit. This would bring in new convictions clear as it would pardon anyone who possessed two ounces. Some feel that HB 21-1090 is not going to do enough. Cannabis attorney Sean McAllister, who has experience defending medical cannabis patients and serves as an executive on the City of Denver's Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, thinks the combination means that pardons and pardons are for such a small amount and not automated, won't help many people. "Unless there is an automatic seal, it won't have much effect, but it really costs the state money. If that's the cost of this failed, immoral drug war, they should do it anyway, but that's more of a deal killer." McAllister said, although he added, "Any exemption from the property laws or the extension of the laws on sealing of files is certainly a step forward." There are other issues with the idea as well, such as the fact that finding ancient cannabis crimes can be a hurdle unless the jurisdiction participates in the Colorado Crime Information Center. Also, many of the existing condemnations are intentional, more than two ounces, and the new language isn't going to really do much.