State lawmaker takes aim at medical pot

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A Republican state senator said Friday that he planned to introduce legislation to tighten regulation of the medical marijuana industry in Colorado.

“What we’ve effectively got now is de facto decriminalization of marijuana,” Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, said in a statement. “That is not what the people of this state voted for.”

Colorado voters in 2000 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical use of marijuana to treat specific conditions. But because the amendment conflicted with federal drug laws, it wasn’t perceived as much of an issue, and little effort was made to regulate dispensaries or users.

But the Obama administration’s less-stringent federal enforcement policies have turned medical marijuana into a burgeoning business in Colorado.

In 2007, fewer than 2,000 people were licensed to use medical marijuana in Colorado, White said. That number is now 13,000, with more than 600 new applications coming in every day, he said.

“If the state doesn’t take some action to put an end to this ‘Wild West’ environment, Colorado is going to become the global retail headquarters for international drug cartels,” White said.

White proposes establishing a state monopoly to grow and distribute marijuana. Medical marijuana prescriptions would have to be filled by a licensed pharmacist.

Revenue from the sale of marijuana would be split equally between a “rainy day fund” and a special fund for colleges and universities. After the rainy day fund reached $1 billion in assets, the revenue stream would be directed entirely to higher education.

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