The Colorado Amendment 64

Cannabis in Colorado refers to cannabis (the legal/botanical term for marijuana) use and
possession in the state of Colorado. The Colorado Amendment 64, which was passed by voters
on November 6, 2012, led to legalization in January 2014. The policy has led to cannabis
tourism. There are two sets of policies in Colorado relating to cannabis use: those for medicinal
cannabis and for recreational drug use along with a third set of rules governing hemp.
Short-term use increases the risk of minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects
include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, and hallucinations. Long-term effects of cannabis are
not clear. Concerns include memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in
young people, and the risk of children taking it by accident.
The Cannabis plant has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of years in many
cultures. Some American medical organizations have requested removal of cannabis from the
list of Schedule I controlled substances maintained by the United States federal government,
followed by regulatory and scientific review. Others oppose its legalization, such as the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
Medical cannabis can be administered through various methods, including capsules, lozenges,
tinctures, dermal patches, oral or dermal sprays, cannabis edibles, and vaporizing or smoking
dried buds. Synthetic cannabinoids are available for prescription use in some countries, such as
dronabinol and nabilone. Countries that allow the medical use of whole-plant cannabis include
Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru,
Poland, Portugal, and Uruguay. In the United States, 33 states and the District of Columbia have
legalized cannabis for medical purposes, beginning with the passage of California's Proposition
215 in 1996. Although cannabis remains prohibited for any use at the federal level, the
Rohrabacher–Farr amendment was enacted in December 2014, limiting the ability of federal
law to be enforced in states where medical cannabis has been legalized.
Amidst an early 20th century trend of limiting the drug, Colorado first restricted cannabis on
March 30, 1917. In November 1914 Colorado voters approved the 22nd Amendment to the
Colorado Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, prohibiting alcohol
beginning January 1, 1916 and on December 18, 1917 the Eighteenth Amendment (establishing
Prohibition) was proposed by Congress.

Shortly after the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act went into effect on October 1, 1937, the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics and Denver Police Department arrested Moses Baca for possession and
Samuel Caldwell for dealing. Baca and Caldwell's arrest made them the first marijuana
convictions under U.S. federal law for not paying the marijuana tax. Judge Foster Symes
sentenced Baca to 18 months and Caldwell to four years in Leavenworth Penitentiary for
violating the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act.