Colorado Legislature Unveils Marijuana Regulation Plans

57-page bill to create legal marketplace

Lawmakers late Thursday introduced a long-awaited bill of proposed regulations for recreational marijuana, moving Colorado one step closer to a legal pot marketplace.

The 57-page bill contains most of the ideas endorsed by a special legislative committee for how recreational marijuana businesses should operate and be structured. A second bill, also introduced late Thursday, lays out a proposed tax structure for marijuana that voters would be asked to approve.

Both bills must be passed in the state House and Senate — requiring a minimum of six different votes — by May 8, the end of the legislative session. If they are not, it is likely lawmakers would consider a special session this spring to try again, since this is the only opportunity the legislature has to weigh in on marijuana regulations before pot stores open around the beginning of 2014.