Colorado Medical Marijuana Law

QUALIFYING CONDITIONS

• Any “condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid”
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Cachexia
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Chronic nervous system disorders
• Glaucoma
• HIV or AIDS
• Nausea
• Persistent Muscle Spasms
• Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
• Seizures

PATIENT POSSESSION LIMITS

Two ounces of usable marijuana.

HOME CULTIVATION

Yes, patients (or their primary caregivers) may cultivate no more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature, flowering plants that are producing a usable form of marijuana.

STATE-LICENSED DISPENSARIES ALLOWED

Yes

STATE-LICENSED DISPENSARIES OPERATIONAL

Yes

MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATUTES

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 25-1.5-106 (2003) (originally enacted as § 25-1-107(1)(jj) (2001))
• C.O. Const. art. XVIII, §14 (2001)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-406.3 (2001)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. §25-1.5-106 (2), (10) (2001)

CAREGIVERS

Yes, primary caregiver is a person other than the patient or the patient’s physician. The caregiver must be 18 years of age or older. A patient can only have one primary caregiver at a time. A patient who has designated a primary caregiver for himself or herself may not be designated as a primary caregiver for another patient. A primary caregiver may be listed on the medical marijuana registry for no more than 5 patients.

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF REGISTERED PATIENTS

• 70,533
• Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, as of February 2023

EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS FOR QUALIFYING PATIENTS

• No

RECIPROCITY

No

CONTACT INFORMATION