Colorado Cannabis Caucus: First State Legislature Group of Its Kind to Launch
"This kind of caucus is something we at the national level have been looking at for quite some time," says NORML outreach director Kevin Mahmalji, who's based in Denver. "Since the formation of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, it just made sense to have something similar at the state level."
Several members of Congress from Colorado are part of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, including Jared Polis.
According to Mahmalji, "we've had several internal discussions about a Colorado cannabis caucus over the last year or two. But during Denver NORML's lobby day last year, I ran into Representative Leslie Herod" — who recently appeared in these pages to advocate for a safe-use injection site pilot program that failed to pass — "and she latched onto the idea of facilitating an informal space for colleagues who maybe weren't supportive of marijuana to learn about it and brush up on policy — something that's not necessarily formatted like a debate on the floor of the House, which can get pretty hostile."
