If you called 911 or otherwise sought emergency help for a friend or someone you happened to be with who appeared to be suffering a drug overdose, do you run the risk of being arrested for your own drug possession and use? In most cases, you don’t. Colorado, like most...
Coloradans are gearing up to vote on the NMHA ballot initiative. While magic mushrooms have in some circumstances been decriminalized for adults over 21 in Denver since 2019, the change would mean that it would no longer be illegal for people over 21 to grow, possess...
The state and federal governments outlawed certain drugs through the course of the 20th century. Fortunately, Colorado has been leading the charge to roll some of those laws back, legalizing marijuana in 2014 and having a more enlightened approach to drug possession...
Marijuana legalization was once an outlier topic and even a taboo discussion item in states across the nation. When the subject did come up, naysayers often laced debate with harsh rhetoric citing perceived risks across a broad front. Critics claimed that stoned...
You are hardly alone if a police stop decades ago netted you a criminal conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana. In fact, you are a member of a large and varied crowd of state residents. Maybe you had the misfortunate as a college student in the 1970s...
Last week spelled the end for Colorado’s fiscal year 2020 General Assembly session.It came with a bit of drama.What would have otherwise been a quiet ending to state lawmakers’ work for the year was imbued with spark and controversy at literally the last moment. A...
Today’s blog post highlights two Colorado criminal appeals cases resulting in a notable state Supreme Court ruling that addresses sentencing punishment.Both those matters involved penalties imposed on defendants convicted of possession of a controlled substance in...
It has been six years since Colorado voters decriminalized recreational marijuana. But cannabis users still have rules to follow. You can still get arrested if you are carrying more than the one ounce the law permits for anyone 21 and older. Where you decide to light...
Criminal law cases often revolve around assessments concerning legal principles that can vary materially from case to case. Moreover, what might seem unreasonable to one person can seem flatly right to another. In short, many legal standards are more fluid than firm....
Last spring, bill HB 19-1263 was signed and became Colorado law. On March 1st, 2020, the law officially went into effect. HB 19-1263 reclassifies the offense of possession of schedule I or II substances as a level-one drug misdemeanor. Does this mean that if law...
