COLORADO —
Using marijuana for recreational use is now effectively legal in Colorado.
Gov. John Hickenlooper declared a voter-approved marijuana legalization amendment as part of the state constitution on Monday. It was the last procedural step needed for the amendment to take effect.
The drug became legal in Washington state last week.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, opposed the measure but had no veto power over the voter-approved amendment to the state constitution.
“Voters were loud and clear on Election Day,” Hickenlooper in a statement.
Adults over 21 in Colorado may now possess up to an ounce of marijuana, or six plants. Commercial sale of the drug remains illegal until Colorado lawmakers set up a system of regulation and taxation next year. Public use of marijuana use is not allowed.
Colorado and Washington officials both have asked the U.S. Department of Justice for guidance on the laws that conflict with federal drug law. So far the federal government has offered little guidance beyond stating that marijuana remains illegal and that the controlled Substances Act will be enforced.
Hickenlooper announced a state task force Monday to help craft marijuana regulations. Task force members include law enforcement, agriculture officials and marijuana advocates.
Colorado and Washington officials both have asked the U.S. Department of Justice for guidance on the laws that conflict with federal drug law. Neither state will allow commercial sales for a year or more.
Colorado’s marijuana measure, Amendment 64, was approved with 55 percent of the vote last month.
National News
Related Photos
-
breakingnews.jpg
Discussion
NATION: Pot legalized in Colorado with gov’s proclamation
- National News
-
-
VIDEO: Bombing suspect allegedly wrote confession in boat
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly penned a note inside the boat where he was found hiding from authorities, explaining his rationale for his part in the deadly explosion.
-
MAP: Tornadoes carve across North Texas communities
As many as 10 tornadoes touched down soouthwest of Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.
-
VIDEO: Texas tornadoes damage homes, businesses
The Dallas Morning News has the latest on the tornadoes that tore through the region Wednesday night.
-
INFLUENCE GAME: Tech, labor spar on immigration
To the U.S. technology industry, there's a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business.
-
VIDEO: One by one, homes in Calif. subdivision sinking
Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. Within two weeks their property dropped 10 feet below the street.
-
5 takeaways from the IRS report
What are the key takeaways from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's report on the Internal Revenue Service's decision to subject conservative groups to heightened scrutiny?
-
What if you could pay for cable channels a la carté?
It's time to let television viewers buy individual channels, rather than being required to pay for bundles of programming, Sen. John McCain told a Senate panel Tuesday.
-
IRS focus on Tea Party groups to be subject of criminal probe
Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a criminal investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of small-government advocacy groups for extra scrutiny.
-
Gov’t probe obtains wide swath of AP phone records; pressure mounts on DOJ
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.
-
OJ returns to Las Vegas court in bid for new trial
O.J. Simpson was back in a Las Vegas courtroom on Monday to ask for a new trial in the armed robbery-kidnapping case that sent him to prison in 2008.
The former football hero and a new set of lawyers hope to convince a judge during the hearing that trial lawyer Yale Galanter had conflicted interests and shouldn’t have handled Simpson’s case. - More National News Headlines
-
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
