On Thursday, the governor of Colorado signed a bill to double the marijuana possession limit for adults.

On top of this bill, Gov. Jared Polis is directing law enforcement to identify people with prior convictions that match the new limit. Then, he plans to hand out pardons to those who become eligible according to the new limit.

This bill will increase the amount of cannabis a person can lawfully carry from one ounce to two ounces. It will also require courts to approve requests to have prior records for cannabis possession sealed without consulting with a district attorney.

“This is a very exciting bill in the vein of criminal justice reform because … they might have something on their record … that might get in the way of them getting loans or leases or jobs or mortgages or many other things,” Polis said.

Pardons and Cannabis

Last year the governor signed an executive order granting amnesty to people convicted of possessing one ounce or less of cannabis. 

At that time he could have also granted amnesty to people convicted of possessing up to two ounces. But his office declined to pardon any case involving more than one ounce. In 2020 it was still against the law to possess more than one ounce of cannabis. 

Nothing is written into the new bill for lawful possession of two ounces that calls for a proactive review of cases that might qualify again for clemency. Now that the possession threshold has increased, Polis is directing the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to search for those people.

The governor said that his office plans to move forward with pardons in the next month or two.

Colorado’s Cannabis Legislation

Lately, Colorado has been irregular with cannabis legislation, according to advocates.

On the one hand, the governor signed a bill earlier this month to expand access to medical marijuana for students in schools. On the other hand, the legislature is advancing a proposal that stakeholders view as problematic.

The proposal will enact limits on marijuana concentrates. It will also place restrictions on medical cannabis recommendations, and require the state to study the impacts of marijuana on specific health outcomes.

Some industry groups have said that they do appreciate the proposal’s intent. Although, they argue it goes too far in creating a restriction on the market.

Either way, the cannabis market in Colorado is continuing to grow, seeing more than half a billion dollars in sales for the first three months of 2021.

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.