The Colorado Legislature’s work for the 2015 session wrapped up in May, but some of the lawmakers’ decisions did not go into effect until July 1. This year’s crop of late-blooming laws include key public safety measures and continued refinement of marijuana laws and policy. Stiffened penalties for sexual assaults on children, and allowing more time for prosecutors to file hit-and-run charges are scattered among more mundane provisions that include: sunsetting obsolete laws, and reorganizing the State Historical Society’s funds, along with measures providing services for children with autism, banning amateur hash-oil manufacturing with explosive materials, and aiming to reduce accidental needle-sticks for law enforcement and emergency responders. In all, the new laws run a broad spectrum of responsive and practical measures.
As Colorado proceeds through its experiment with legal marijuana for adults older than 21, a number of issues has arisen that require response – at both the policy and practical levels. At-home, hash-oil production is one such niche of the marijuana economy. The process often involves combustible materials such as butane, and explosions have ensued. Those licensed to manufacture the oil are still allowed to do so, but amateurs now face felony charges for the explosives and the drugs.
There are compelling public-safety reasons to ban the dangerous production methods among those not trained to use them: More than 30 hash-related explosions occurred in Colorado in 2014. That the marijuana that was initially legal to possess but, once used for the hash oil, could now bring felony drug charges, along with those for explosives, sets up a potential conundrum under state law that will be interesting to observe in its implementation. Nevertheless, preventing dangerous explosions caused by those who lack the knowledge and equipment to safely conduct the hash-oil-making process is in the state’s interest.
So, too, is keeping police officers and emergency responders safe from infection when assisting with arrests and emergencies. To that end, the Legislature offered immunity from charges of drug paraphernalia to individuals who reveal they have a hypodermic needle in their possession when dealing with law enforcement or medical responders. The law’s goal is to prevent responders from discovering the needle accidentally after being stuck by it. This is a reasonable measure for all involved, and though it may not have far-reaching implications, those it does affect will benefit nonetheless.
The same is true for a measure that allows prosecutors 10 years to file charges in hit-and-run vehicular homicide cases – double the current five-year statute of limitations. If new evidence arises that could spur action in a cold case that results in a death, prosecutors should be empowered to use it. A decade is an appropriate time period to gather that evidence, and law enforcement should be encouraged to pursue such cases. Five years was not adequate for the task.
The Legislature had a productive year, with 367 bills passed – three of which Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed – and a number of significant bipartisan achievements, including a growing state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The July 1 bills exemplify that productivity.
