DENVER – Colorado lawmakers are embracing the NBC motto of “the more you know” as they navigate the realities of legalized medical and recreational marijuana.
This can been seen in a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 25, that was passed by the House Public Health Care and Human Services Committee Tuesday on a 9-3 vote.
SB 25, which would require the Colorado Department of Education to create a bank of materials on the effects of marijuana to be used for the education of K-12 students, was previously heard by the Senate and passed unanimously.
The resource bank would be established with the assistance of the Department of Public Health and Environment, and any fees associated with the creation or maintenance of the bank would be recuperated from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund, which is revenue generated from taxes on marijuana.
The bill was originally scheduled for a committee hearing in March but was laid over by the bill sponsor, Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, while a consensus from stakeholders was found.
Singer said there were concerns from both anti-marijuana and pro-marijuana organizations about the tone of the information which would be available in the program. Anti-pot groups were afraid the program would potentially harm children, while pro-pot groups feared a return to sensationalized images and unrealistic campaigns such as former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” effort, Singer said.
The goal of the bill is to ensure the bank “doesn’t turn into a DARE program that doesn’t work, and on the flip side, it doesn’t turn into an unintentional infomercial for marijuana to minors,” he said.
The underlying concerns with SB 25 gave it the potential to be contentious going into the process and necessitated a need for stakeholder buy in. “Nothing says controversy like marijuana, kids and our educational system,” Singer said.
SB 25 also gives the Department of Education the ability to contract with an outside entity to improve the educational resources currently available as long as research for the resources are evidence-based findings.
“It can’t just be propaganda,” Singer said.
The bill next heads to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
lperkins@durangoherald.com
