Ask a Stoner: Does Colorado’s New Possession Limit Extend to Dispensaries?

Dear Stoner: Now that the weed possession limit has been raised in Colorado, does that mean I can buy more at dispensaries?
Buku Burner

Dear Burner: New cannabis rights move slowly, even in Colorado. Earlier this year, House Bill 1090‘s passage did create a law raising the recreational cannabis possession limit from 1 ounce to 2 ounces while adding pathways for clearing past pot charges, but dispensaries operate under different rules than us normal folk.

The pot industry is regulated by the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, which is empowered by state lawmakers to craft and enforce most of its own regulations, so the MED’s rules for us don’t have to align with personal possession laws. In a recent interview with Westword, MED senior director Dominique Mendiola said that the new possession law “does not affect prior-established sales limits,” and that the 1-ounce daily purchasing limit at recreational pot shops would stay in place until the MED decides otherwise. There hasn’t been an outside push for the MED to increase that daily sales limit, but there isn’t a state tracking system for recreational pot purchases, either (there is for medical marijuana purchases, however), so it’s really on dispensaries and customers to follow these restrictions.

Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.