(1) (a) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than two and one-half pounds of marijuana or more than one pound of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 1 drug felony subject to the mandatory sentencing provision in section 18-1.3-401.5 (7).
(b) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than six ounces, but not more
than two and one-half pounds of marijuana or more than three ounces, but not more
than one pound of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and
two years older than the minor is a level 2 drug felony.
(c) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than one ounce, but not more
than six ounces of marijuana or more than one-half ounce, but not more than three
ounces, of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years
older than the minor is a level 3 drug felony.
(d) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of not more than one ounce of marijuana
or not more than one-half ounce of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is
an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 4 drug felony.
(2) (a) (I) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly process or manufacture any
marijuana or marijuana concentrate or knowingly allow to be processed or
manufactured on land owned, occupied, or controlled by him or her any marijuana
or marijuana concentrate except as authorized pursuant to part 1 of article 280 of
title 12 or part 2 of article 80 of title 27.
(II) A person who violates the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this
paragraph (a) commits a level 3 drug felony.
(b) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section and
except as authorized by part 1 of article 280 of title 12, part 2 of article 80 of title
27, or part 2 or 3 of this article 18, it is unlawful for a person to knowingly dispense,
sell, distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell, or distribute
marijuana or marijuana concentrate; or attempt, induce, attempt to induce, or
conspire with one or more other persons, to dispense, sell, distribute, or possess
with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell, or distribute marijuana or marijuana
concentrate.
(II) As used in subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section, dispense does not include
labeling, as defined in section 12-280-103 (23).
(III) A person who violates any of the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this
paragraph (b) commits:
(A) A level 1 drug felony and is subject to the mandatory sentencing
provision in section 18-1.3-401.5 (7) if the amount of marijuana is more than fifty
pounds or the amount of marijuana concentrate is more than twenty-five pounds;
(B) A level 2 drug felony if the amount of marijuana is more than five pounds
but not more than fifty pounds or the amount of marijuana concentrate is more than
two and one-half pounds but not more than twenty-five pounds;
(C) A level 3 drug felony if the amount is more than twelve ounces but not
more than five pounds of marijuana or more than six ounces but not more than two
and one-half pounds of marijuana concentrate;
(D) A level 4 drug felony if the amount is more than four ounces, but not
more than twelve ounces of marijuana or more than two ounces but not more than
six ounces of marijuana concentrate; or
(E) A level 1 drug misdemeanor if the amount is not more than four ounces of
marijuana or not more than two ounces of marijuana concentrate.
(3) (a) (I) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly cultivate, grow, or produce a
marijuana plant or knowingly allow a marijuana plant to be cultivated, grown, or
produced on land that the person owns, occupies, or controls.
(II) (A) Regardless of whether the plants are for medical or recreational use,
it is unlawful for a person to knowingly cultivate, grow, or produce more than
twelve marijuana plants on or in a residential property; or to knowingly allow more
than twelve marijuana plants to be cultivated, grown, or produced on or in a
residential property.
(B) Except as provided in section 25-1.5-106 (8.5)(a.5)(I) or section 25-1.5-106
(8.6)(a)(I.5) for a medical marijuana patient or a primary caregiver with a twenty-four-marijuana-plant-count exception to subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section, it is
not a violation of subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section if a county, municipality, or
city and county law expressly permits the cultivation, growth, or production of more
than twelve marijuana plants on or in a residential property and the person is
cultivating, growing, or producing the plants in an enclosed and locked space and
within the limit set by the county, municipality, or city and county where the plants
are located.
(III) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section
commits:
(A) A level 3 drug felony if the offense involves more than thirty plants;
(B) A level 4 drug felony if the offense involves more than six but not more
than thirty plants; or
(C) A level 1 drug misdemeanor if the offense involves not more than six
plants.
(IV) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this
section commits:
(A) A level 1 drug petty offense for a first offense if the offense involves
more than twelve plants, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of up to
one thousand dollars;
(B) A level 1 drug misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense if the
offense involves more than twelve but not more than twenty-four plants; or
(C) A level 3 drug felony for a second or subsequent offense if the offense
involves more than twenty-four plants.
(V) Prosecution under subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section does not prohibit
prosecution under any other section of law.
(b) It is not a violation of this subsection (3) if:
(I) The person is lawfully cultivating medical marijuana pursuant to the
authority granted in section 14 of article XVIII of the state constitution in an
enclosed and locked space;
(II) The person is lawfully cultivating marijuana in an enclosed and locked
space pursuant to the authority granted in section 16 of article XVIII of the state
constitution; except that, if the cultivation area is located in a residence and:
(A) A person under twenty-one years of age lives at the residence, the
cultivation area itself must be enclosed and locked; and
(B) If no person under twenty-one years of age lives at the residence, the
external locks of the residence constitutes an enclosed and locked space. If a
person under twenty-one years of age enters the residence, the person must ensure
that access to the cultivation site is reasonably restricted for the duration of that
person’s presence in the residence.
(c) For purposes of this subsection (3):
(I) Flowering means the reproductive state of the cannabis plant in which
there are physical signs of flower budding out of the nodes in the stem.
(II) Plant means any cannabis plant in a cultivating medium which plant is
more than four inches wide or four inches high or a flowering cannabis plant
regardless of the plant’s size.
(III) Residential property means a single unit providing complete
independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent
provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. Residential
property also includes the real property surrounding a structure, owned in
common with the structure, that includes one or more single units providing
complete independent living facilities.
(3.5) A person is not in compliance with the authority to assist another
individual granted in section 14 (2)(b) or section 16 (3)(e) of article XVIII of the state
constitution and is subject to the offenses and penalties of subsection (3) of this
section if the person possesses any marijuana plant he or she is growing on behalf
of another individual, unless he or she is the primary caregiver for the individual and
is in compliance with the requirements of section 25-1.5-106.
(4) On or after March 1, 2020:
(a) Repealed.
(b) A person who possesses more than six ounces of marijuana or more than
three ounces of marijuana concentrate commits a level 1 drug misdemeanor.
(c) A person who possesses more than two ounces of marijuana but not more
than six ounces of marijuana or not more than three ounces of marijuana
concentrate commits a level 2 drug misdemeanor.
(5) (a) Repealed.
(b) (I) Except as described in section 18-1-711, a person who openly and
publicly displays, consumes, or uses two ounces or less of marijuana commits a
drug petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of up to
one hundred dollars and up to twenty-four hours of community service.
(II) Open and public display, consumption, or use of more than two ounces of
marijuana or any amount of marijuana concentrate is deemed possession thereof,
and violations shall be punished as provided for in subsection (4) of this section.
(III) Except as otherwise provided for in subsection (5)(b)(I) of this section,
consumption or use of marijuana or marijuana concentrate is deemed possession
thereof, and violations must be punished as provided for in subsection (4) of this
section.
(IV) Public display, consumption, or use of marijuana or marijuana
concentrate pursuant to the provisions of section 44-10-609, when such display,
consumption, or use is within the licensed premises of a marijuana hospitality
business licensed pursuant to section 44-10-609, is not a violation of this
subsection (5).
(V) Public display, consumption, or use of retail marijuana or retail marijuana
concentrate pursuant to the provisions of section 44-10-610, when such display,
consumption, or use is within the licensed premises of a retail marijuana hospitality
and sales business licensed pursuant to section 44-10-610 and when an individual’s
display, consumption, or use does not exceed the sales limit established by the
state licensing authority by rule pursuant to section 44-10-203 (2)(ff)(II), is not a
violation of this subsection (5).
(c) Transferring or dispensing not more than two ounces of marijuana from
one person to another for no consideration is a drug petty offense and is not
deemed dispensing or sale thereof.
(5.5) (a) It is unlawful for a person to transfer marijuana or marijuana
concentrate at no cost to a person if the transfer is in any way related to
remuneration for any other service or product.
(b) A violation of this subsection (5.5) is a level 1 drug misdemeanor.
(6) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who possesses,
uses, prescribes, dispenses, or administers any drug classified under group C
guidelines of the national cancer institute, as amended, approved by the federal
food and drug administration.
(7) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who possesses,
uses, prescribes, dispenses, or administers dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and
encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a federal food and drug administration
approved drug product, pursuant to part 1 of article 280 of title 12 or part 2 of
article 80 of title 27.
(2) Amendments to subsection (7)(c) by House Bill 02-1237 and House Bill
02-1046 were harmonized.
(3) Subsection (4)(a)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (4)(a), effective
March 1, 2020. (See L. 2019, p. 2677.)
L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 358, § 1, effective July 1. L. 95: (10) amended, p. 206, § 21, effective April 13. L. 98: (12) added, p. 1436, § 6, effective July 1. L. 2000: (12) amended, p. 1360, § 43, effective July 1, 2001. L. 2002: (4)(a)(II), (4)(b)(II), (7)(c), (8)(a)(II)(B), (8)(b)(III)(B), and (12) amended, pp. 1580, 1583, §§ 5, 14, effective July 1; (3)(a)(I), (7)(a), (7)(b), and (7)(c) amended, p. 1519, § 213, effective October 1. L. 2003: (7)(c) and (9) amended, p. 1428, § 12, effective April 29. L. 2009: (12) repealed, (HB 09-1266), ch. 347, p. 1815, § 6, effective August 5. L. 2010: (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) amended and (7.5) added, (HB 10-1352), ch. 259, p. 1166, § 6, effective August 11. L. 2011: (3)(a)(II) and (3)(b) amended, (HB 11-1303), ch. 264, p. 1157, § 35, effective August 10. L. 2012: (1) and (3)(a)(I) amended, (SB 12-020), ch. 225, p. 988, § 6, effective May 29; (2) amended, (SB 12-175), ch. 208, p. 874, § 133, effective July 1; (6)(a)(I), (6)(b)(I), (6)(b)(II), and (11) amended, (HB 12-1311), ch. 281, p. 1622, § 56, effective July 1. L. 2013: Entire section R&RE, (SB 13-250), ch. 333, p. 1913, § 11, effective October 1. L. 2014: (3) amended, (HB 14-1122), ch. 39, p. 201, § 5, effective March 17. L. 2016: (3)(b)(I) amended, (SB 16-080), ch. 247, p. 1017, § 1, effective June 8; (5.5) added, (HB 16-1261), ch. 338, p. 1378, § 11, effective June 10. L. 2017: (3.5) added, (HB 17-1221), ch. 401, p. 2091, § 2, effective July 1; (3)(a) amended and (3)(c) added, (HB 17-1220), ch. 402, p. 2095, § 2, effective January 1, 2018. L. 2019: (5)(b)(IV) and (5)(b)(V) added, (HB 19-1230), ch. 340, p. 3116, § 9, effective August 2; (2)(a)(I), (2)(b)(I), (2)(b)(II), and (7) amended, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1679, § 107, effective October 1; (5)(b)(IV) and (5)(b)(V) amended, (HB 19-1230), ch. 340, p. 3127, § 23, effective January 1, 2020; (4) and (5)(a)(II) amended, (HB 19-1263), ch. 291, p. 2677, § 2, effective March 1, 2020. L. 2021: (5)(a) repealed and (5)(b)(III) amended, (HB 21-1090), ch. 157, p. 901, § 3, effective May 20.
(1) This section is similar to former § 18-18-106 as it existed prior to 1992.
For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsections (3)(a)(I), (7)(a), (7)(b), and (7)(c), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration in the 2012 act amending subsections (1) and (3)(a)(I), see section 1 of chapter 225, Session Laws of Colorado 2012. For the legislative declaration in HB 17-1221, see section 1 of chapter 401, Session Laws of Colorado 2017. For the legislative declaration in HB 17-1220, see section 1 of chapter 402, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.
