Your Donation Helps to Educate Others by Keeping Cannabis Nation News On the Net!
It's Time For An Honest Conversation about Cannabis!
Nederland, CO
Nederland is a quaint mountain town located in the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado. With the recent passage of Ammendment 64 in Colorado, which allows the use of marijuana by adults for non-medical use, many are wondering how this new found freedom of social use will roll out. No pun intended.
In other words you don't have to have a medical ailment, get a recommendation from a Dr., pay a fee and register with the State of Colorado Department of Health, to be considered an approved patient. Yes, those are all real requirements for medical marijuana patients in the state of Colorado. The rules for social use, are in the making. In the meantime, special interest groups are pushing their agendas, likely with promises of future wealth to those in positions of power. But Nederland has long been a town of reason, and a community that actually looks out for each other with a common sense approach to problems that arise, so it makes sense that some folks from Colorado have their sights on Nederland to make a run for it to lead the way. Step aside Netherlands, Nederland is becoming Leaderland, in the marijuana movement.
Press Release: Nederland Residents First to Embrace Implementation of A64 and
"Regulate like Alcohol"
Move over Netherlands, here comes Nederland.
While most Coloradans anxiously await the implementation of Amendment 64, local
activists, Max Rashbaum and Rico Colibri boldly moved forward this week by submitting
language for title on a peoples initiative to make Nederland the first town in America to
regulate marijuana since it’s prohibition some 76 years ago. If adopted Nederland would
stand in stark contrast to the unfortunate pattern of local bans on recreational sales
throughout the State. Mr. Rashbaum stated "It's about time Coloradans have the
opportunity to express their newly found freedom without fear of being forced into an
over regulated market or an unregulated club.", echoing the sentiments in the findings of
the proposed ordinance.
“If marijuana establishments pursuant to section 16 of article 18 to the Colorado
Constitution were not allowed to operate before October 1, 2013, Colorado marijuana
consumers who wish to obtain marijuana would have no option but to purchase from the
black market, bolstering the profits of criminal organizations, increasing criminal
activities and endangering other wise law abiding citizens. To allow recreational use of
marijuana without providing a lawful source to purchase marijuana is detrimental to the
public health, safety and welfare.”
Mr. Colibri, also a member of the Amendment 64 Shadow Task Force, explains that
Coloradans need to seize the moment. "Now that Amendment 64 passed it is the
property of the people and not just special interest groups lobbying at the capitol." Mr.
Colibri also stresses that it is "time to be pro-activists instead of re-activists and not
stand idly by, while the Governor's Task Force still grapples over unreasonable ideas
such as State run stores, arbitrary THC caps, bans on felons in the industry and
unconstitutional restrictions on advertising, all of which have less to do with how alcohol
is regulated and is more akin to 1937 Reefer Madness.” Colibri states Amendment 64
only requires the following issues be addressed: that the State regulate marijuana like
alcohol, amending current drug laws to reflect newly non criminal activities, the
enactment of an excise tax to fund schools and the implementation of an industrial
hemp industry.
The proponents hope to collect 420 signatures from registered Nederland voters to
show the Nederland Board of Trustees that the proposed ordinance has strong
community support. Which would encourage the Board of Trustees to pass the
ordinance within 30 days after the signatures are verified. This would save Nederland
from spending money the town doesn't have to pass another costly and burdensome
regulatory scheme as it had under HB1284 which cost the town well over $40,000
dollars and caused the closure of 6 out of 8 tax paying MMJ businesses. Reducing
marijuana tax revenue from 20% gross to 1.5% in the span of a year. The proponents
have intentionally created an inclusive and responsible regulatory model with the
concerns of protecting the public health, safety and welfare in mind and hope to set an
example that the State and other local municipalities can emulate.
The ordinance was designed to implement the will of the 55% of Coloradans who voted
to regulate marijuana like alcohol. The proponents specifically avoided cumbersome
medical marijuana like over regulation and used existing liquor regulations as their
model. The ordinance regulates retail marijuana stores in a fashion similar to brew pubs
which allows for on and off premise consumption, franchising and the ability to
manufacture. The ordinance allows for both vertical and non vertical manufacturing,
addressing the concerns of rural business owners who might not be able to afford a
large grow while giving other businesses control over their product branding and quality
similar to the microbrew industry.
Colorado is famous for the quality of it’s microbrews, a fact recently touted by Governor
Hickenlooper, the previous owner of Colorado’s first brew pub, the Wynkoop, over a
friendly wager. "As I said before, for it to be a fair bet, we would have had to send two to
three bottles of Colorado craft beer for every two or three cases of their beer." A concept
the proponents hope isn’t lost on Hickenlooper’s Amendment 64 task force appointed to
give regulatory recommendations to the General Assembly.
The proponents point out that even Laura Harris, the head of Department of Revenue
Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, sees the error in over regulation as discussed
in a recent article. “The agency has been beset by money woes and had to cut many of
its investigators. Even if the agency had all the money it wanted, the state's medical pot
rules are a model of regulatory overreach, too cumbersome and expensive to enforce.”
For more information or if you wish to run a similar initiative in your town please contact
Rico Colibri at:
