Marijuana regulations signed into law

Governor John Hickenlooper signed a series of bills regulating the sale and use of recreational marijuana in Colorado Tuesday morning.

Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 in November. That law made it legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, and to grow as many as six marijuana plants at home.

KMGH-TV reported that the new laws passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor on Tuesday are designed to do the following:

Dictate how marijuana should be grown, packaged and sold.
Ask voters to tax pot at at least 25 percent, with proceeds going to school construction and regulating pot.
Create a new limit for driving under the influence of marijuana, similar to the blood alcohol limit.
Address tax issues for marijuana businesses, allowing them to claim certain business deductions at the state level even though their businesses violate federal law.

The governor said he believes the federal government will soon respond to the fact that Colorado and Washington state are in violation of federal drug law. But Hickenlooper didn’t have a specific idea when.