COLORADO – Amendment X on this year’s ballot was a resolution seeking voter approval on removing the definition of “industrial hemp” from the Colorado constitution, and moving towards the definition used in federal law or state statute.
The change would keep Colorado in compliance if federal regulations changed. Fifty-five percent of voters must approve for the amendment to pass.
Amendment 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado in 2012, added a definition of “industrial hemp” to the Colorado Constitution. The definition states that industrial hemp is “the plant of the genus cannabis and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta9 tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] concentration that does not exceed three-tenths [0.3] percent on a dry weight basis.” The definition of industrial hemp in federal law sets the same limit for THC concentration.
Supporters believe the change will allow Colorado’s hemp industry to remain competitive with other states. Opponents argue a change may deviate from voter intent when legalization was passed in 2012.
