Colorado Proposal Would Allow Marijuana Delivery

A bill introduced in the Colorado Senate last week would allow you to get weed delivered to your house. If the measure passes, dispensaries could apply for a delivery endorsement, then have an employee or approved contractor drive recreational or medical cannabis or cannabis products right to your door.

The daily purchase limits would still apply, so a single household could not receive more than one ounce of recreational flower or two ounces of medical a day. There would also be limits on residences where deliveries are allowed: Residential homes would be okay, but delivery would not be available for public spaces, dormitories, hotels or commercial businesses.

If Senate Bill 192 passes, local jurisdictions could not prohibit dispensaries from partaking in the delivery service. But dispensaries would have to meet training procedures for such service. The state's Cannabis Tracking System would also require dispensaries to closely document their routes, keep manifests, and inventory the products and retail amounts. Drivers would also have to log the number of locations on each drive and track the route between destinations. Product would be kept in a lockbox inside the vehicle.

And not only would the customer making the order have to be 21 or older, but he or she would have to sign for it and could not be visibly intoxicated when it is delivered.

Dispensary endorsements for medical marijuana would begin on January 2, 2018, and retail on January 2, 2019.

The proposed system is similar to a program in Oregon that launched earlier this month and allows deliveries to carry up to $3,000 in product. Oregon's Liquor Control Commission already oversees all the regulations for the state's recreational cannabis program, and the delivery program is managed by the same agency. Like the alcohol industry, Colorado's cannabis deliveries would also fall under the Department of Revenue.

While Colorado's bill focuses predominantly on the delivery service, there's also language that would be a safeguard for the industry, allowing for single-instance transfers. In the case of the federal government moving against the recreational industry, retail marijuana stores could transfer their product to a medical dispensary, which the proposal terms a "safety valve."

The bill is scheduled for a March 1 hearing. It's sponsored by Senator Tim Neville, a Republican from Littleton, along with representatives Jonathan Singer and Jovan Melton.