THEY CAN'T STOP THE BUYING AND SELLING OF POT

Legislators May Not Undo a Constitutional Right

The Senate Judiciary Committee wisely rejected one odd proposal Monday
that sought to allow only individuals, not stores, to sell medical
marijuana. Attorney General John Suthers supported the measure, along
with some prosecutors, and it's a fair bet the constitutional rights
of citizens to cultivate, buy and sell marijuana may come under
continued assault until the legislature adjourns.

Expect some legislators and lawyers to speak mumbo jumbo, saying
dispensaries are illegal. They'll tell us how a city council or county
board of commissioners has some mysterious right to ban cultivation
and commercial sales. No matter what they say, the state constitution
clearly has more authority. It directly protects the cultivation and
sale of medical marijuana. Amendment 20 says (emphasis added by
Gazette): "'Medical use' means the acquisition, possession,
production, use, or transportation of marijuana..."

The right to acquisition, possession and use requires the right to
buy, sell and grow. It's just that simple. A local government cannot
prohibit the sale or cultivation of marijuana without violating the
right to possess, use and acquire it. Legislatures cannot pass laws
that violate individual rights protected by constitutional law.

"There are all sorts of constitional problems with this bill," said
Jessica Peck Corry, a Denver attorney who frequently argues the
benefits of marijuana legalization on Fox News.

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Christopher Cross ruled in
December that Coloradans have a constitutional right to buy marijuana,
when he ruled against Centennial's moratorium on dispensaries by
granting an injunction against the city to CannaMart medical marijuana
dispensary. The plaintiff was represented by Corry's husband, the
formidable civil rights attorney Robert Corry.

"These are people who have a right to medical marijuana, the right to
the caregiver of their choice. That has been taken away from them,"
Cross said, putting the kibosh on Centennial's blatant attempt to
break state law.

Legislators can vote and talk all they want in Denver this week. When
they're done, individuals will retain the legal right to buy, sell and
grow medical marijuana throughout Colorado. The Legislature, like
elected city and county politicians, cannot undo our constitutional
rights.