Tourists visiting Colorado can now buy an ounce of weed

It’s official: Tourists visiting Colorado can now purchase a lot more marijuana than they ever could before: an ounce of weed per daily visit to a Colorado dispensary.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper last week signed into law HB 1261, a routine renewal of the state’s marijuana regulations. Included in that bill was legislation that would repeal Colorado’s unique rule that allowed residents of the state to purchase an ounce of marijuana each day while limiting non-residents’ daily purchases to a quarter-ounce of cannabis.

Effective immediately, Colorado pot shops can now sell an ounce of weed to residents or non-residents alike, state regulators say. The announcement was a welcome one among the cannabis industry.

“It’s good news because our state laws finally conform with our state constitution, because the constitution didn’t discriminate between in state and out of state,” said Tyler Henson, president of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. “It’s also a big boost for industry, because now they don’t have to worry about a lot of the problems they’ve had with doing the math, especially around edibles and concentrates. It’s made things much easier for the budtenders, and now that summertime tourists are coming here for all the outdoor activities, they’ll be able to experience a lot more of what Colorado cannabis has to offer.”

The state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division sent out an industry bulletin on Wednesday advising recreational pot shops that the new marijuana purchasing limits were already in place.

“A statutory change resulting from the 2016 Legislative Session eliminated the quarter ounce purchase limitation for customers unable to provide identification showing Colorado residency,” MED director Jim Burack wrote in the memo. “Sales transactions to Colorado residents and non-residents are now limited to one ounce. Regulations will be aligned with current statute during the 2016 Rulemaking Process.”