DENVER – A legal loophole in Colorado’s marijuana law that allows people to grow hundreds of pot plants without going through background checks or paying taxes likely is staying – for now, a legislator said Tuesday.
Colorado lawmakers are unlikely to consider legislation cracking down on caregivers – people authorized to grow pot on behalf of sick people – despite a January request from the heads of two Colorado agencies that oversee medical and recreational pot.
House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, a Democrat who decides which bills can be considered at this point in the session, said he won’t allow debate on the issue until medical marijuana caregivers and patients are consulted.
Caregivers have constitutional protection, making such debates thorny for lawmakers, Ferrandino said.
“Anytime you’re trying to shrink or change the requirements of caregivers, it has a tendency to blow up in the Legislature,” he said.
There are about 5,000 registered caregivers in Colorado, a holdover from the state medical marijuana law that preceded the legalization of recreational pot.
Those seeking caregiver designation don’t face the extensive background checks or fees required of those who grow or sell pot commercially. Colorado currently sets a five-patient cap on each caregiver, but waivers can be granted for more. And because some patients have authorization for a large number of pot plants, a handful of caregivers have significant growing operations.
Republican Sen. Steve King, who opposed marijuana legalization, said lawmakers shouldn’t wait to tackle the caregiver law. He called it “a loophole you could drive a truck through.”
Nonpartisan state auditor Dianne Ray told lawmakers the caregiver law is a way of circumventing taxes on pot.
The agencies that asked to modify the caregiver law – the Department of Revenue, which oversees commercial pot, and the Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees the medical marijuana registry – did not immediately respond to questions about the legislative delay in considering the issue.
Caregivers and patient advocates cheered the delay.
“Realistically, it’s not feasible for a lot of patients to grow their own or shop at dispensaries,” said Jason Warf, head of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, who uses a caregiver to produce oil to treat his chronic back pain and said he’s physically unable to garden.
Frank Schumacher, a caregiver in suburban Denver who raises pot for five patients, said marijuana advocates would vigorously oppose any effort to force caregivers to go through background checks or other licensing requirements to grow large numbers of plants.
“They can’t tell you how much medicine you need. It’s up to the doctor to do that,” Schumacher said.
However, the state’s top medical officer, Dr. Larry Wolk, told lawmakers in January that high-volume marijuana caregivers are violating the spirit of the law.
“I am fairly certain that doesn’t meet the definition of a caregiver,” Wolk said.
