chris romer

Chris Romer proposes even more eleventh hour amendments to medical marijuana bill

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 05/05/2010 - 12:09am
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By Michael Roberts, Westword Blog
Yesterday, a last-ditch effort by Republican lawmakers to derail HB 1284, a bill to regulate the medical marijuana industry, by pushing MMJ questions to the November ballot failed. That means the legislation is expected to reach the senate floor this week -- yet Senator Chris Romer is still interested in tweaking it.

Last week, Romer suggested banning 21-year olds from visiting dispensaries, among other things -- and the prospect of battling over an additional slew of last-minute MMJ proposals prompted advocate Matt Brown to declare that enough was enough.

Apparently, Romer doesn't agree -- because early this morning, he sent out an e-mail to Michael Dohr from the state's Office of Legislative Legal Services featuring another batch of alterations. Here they are:

Michael and other interested parties,

We need to split the Amendment and need a few more. I think this is it. I hope/think Spense, Massey, McCann, Sommers and I can support these. Please let me know time is short.

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Colorado State Senators send letter to Attorney General asking DEA to back off on medical marijuana raids

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 12:13pm
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By Michael Roberts
House Bill 1284, Representative Tom Massey's legislative attempt to regulate Colorado's medical marijuana industry, was presented to the House judiciary committee last week, with plenty of law enforcement types testifying against it -- a process that advocate Rob Corry found unseemly.

Now, another curve ball. Massey and state senator Chris Romer, a co-sponsor of the bill, have sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking that the Drug Enforcement Administration, which made some high-profile raids on medical marijuana enterprises -- most notably the home grow of Highlands Ranch's Chris Bartkowicz -- give it a rest while the lawmakers try to find what's described as "that rational middle ground."

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Colorado Legislators Await First Bill To Regulate Medical Marijuana

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 3:30pm
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By Steve Elliott
The first bill to regulate Colorado's medical marijuana industry will come before the Legislature today, according to its sponsor.
 
The bill, from state Sen. Chris Romer, would create stricter requirements for the relationship between medical marijuana patients and the doctors recommending it for them, report John Ingold and Jessica Fender of The Denver Post.
 
Marijuana providers would be barred from paying doctors who recommend cannabis to patients. Marijuana-recommending doctors would be required to be in good standing, with no restrictions on their medical licenses, and the doctor and patient would have to have a "bona fide" relationship in which the doctor provides a full examination and follow-up care.
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New medical-pot bill to restrict providers

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 01/11/2010 - 9:12am
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By Jessica Fender, Denver Post

The fight to regulate the rapidly growing number of medical-marijuana dispensaries took a drastic swing toward shutting down the hundreds of Colorado storefronts after state Sen. Chris Romer announced Sunday that a pending pot bill would reflect the wishes of law enforcement groups.

The attorney general, sheriff's organizations and police groups want a five-person limit on the number of patients a pot provider — dubbed a "caregiver" — can serve.

Romer, a Democrat from Denver, said the bill reflecting that cap will likely be introduced once the legislative session starts Wednesday by state Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, who could not be reached for comment.

It's a stark departure from Romer's original bill, which would have required dispensaries to provide other health services and to register their products in a database for law enforcement purposes.

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Romer's Medical Marijuana Bill Raises Important Questions

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 01/08/2010 - 12:29pm
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By. Jessica Corry and Robert J. Corry, Jr.

As Colorado's medical marijuana community, which includes nearly 30,000 registered patients, prepares for next week's legislative session to kick off, the focus will be squarely on a proposal by Sen. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat. While Romer should be applauded for his willingness to consider and implement changes to the bill, its present language raises significant concerns for not only those worried about patient access, but also for any citizen devoted to preserving the constitutional will of Colorado voters.

As the Cannabis Therapy Institute released today, here is a 12-page analysis (authored by Mr. Corry) of Sen. Romer's 39-page bill. As CTI concludes,

Corry correctly states that Romer's bill 'cannot be supported by any serious patient or caregiver in Colorado's Medical Marijuana community.' Corry says Romer's bill would 'significantly increase costs to patients, thereby placing the most vulnerable of them in danger' and 'reduce the selection and consistency of medicine, driving most of the supply back to the dangerous criminal underground.'

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