Westminster Municipal Code Title VI Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

OFFENSES RELATING TO MARIJUANA

6-12-1:  DEFINITIONS
6-12-2:  POSSESSION AND GROWING
6-12-3:  DISPLAY, CONSUMPTION, OR USE
6-12-4:  PROHIBITION ON CITY PROPERTY
6-12-5:  PERMITTED USE
6-12-6:  POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

6-12-1:  DEFINITIONS:  (1590 2001 3646)  The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Controlled Substance” shall mean a controlled substance, as that term is defined in Section 18-18-102(5), C.R.S., as may be amended, which term shall include controlled substance analog, as defined in Section 18-18-102(6)(A), C.R.S. as may be amended.

“Drug Paraphernalia” shall mean all equipment, products, and materials of any kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, possessing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance in violation of the laws of the State or this City.  Drug paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to:

(1)  Testing equipment used, intended for use, or designed for use in identifying or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of conrolled substances under circumstances in violation of the laws of this State or this City;

(2)  Scales and balances used, intended for use, or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances;

(3)  Separation gins and sifters used, intended for use, or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from or in otherwise cleaning or refining marijuana;

(4)  Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices used, intended for use, or designed for use in compounding controlled substances;

(5)  Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers used, intended for use, or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances;

(6)  Containers and other objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances;

(7)  Objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body, such as:

(a)    Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls;
(b)   Water pipes, which means pipes made of any substance with bowls large enough to hold water used for filtering the smoke to be inhaled;
(c)    Carburetion tubes and devices;
(d)   Smoking and c/carburetion masks;
(e)    Roach clips, meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a marijuana cigarette that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand;
(f)    Miniature cocaine spoons and cocaine vials;
(g)    Chamber pipes;
(h)   Carburetor pipes;
(i)     Electric pipes;
(j)     Air-driven pipes;
(k)   Chillums;
(l)     Bongs; or(m) Ice pipes or chillers.

“Enclosed” means within a structure having a roof, walls, windows or doors, all sides of which are or may be closed to the weather.

“Hashish” means the tetrahydrocannabinol-rich resinous material of the cannabis plant, which has been collected, dried, and compressed into any of a variety of forms, such as balls, cakes, or cookie-like sheets.

“Industrial Hemp” means the plant of the genus cannabis and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis.

“Marijuana” or “Marihuana,” shall mean all parts of the plant Cannabis Sativa L., whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or its resin, including marijuana concentrate.  It does not include fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination; or the weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other product.

“Marijuana Concentrate” shall mean hashish, tetrahydrocannabinols, or any alkaloid, salt, derivative, preparation, compound, or mixture, whether natural or synthesized, of tetrahydrocannabinols.

6-12-2:  POSSESSION AND GROWING:  (1590)

(A) Any person under twenty one (21) years of age who possesses, uses, displays, purchases, or transports not more than one (1) ounce of marijuana commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100).

(B) Any person twenty one (21) years of age or older who possesses, uses, displays, purchases or transports more than one (1) ounce but not more than two (2) ounces of marijuana commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100).

(C)  Any person twenty one (21) years of age or older who possesses, grows, processes, or transports more than six (6) marijuana plants but not more than twelve (12) marijuana plants, commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100).  Notwithstanding the limits in Section 6-12-2(B) above, a person twenty one (21) years of age or older may possess on the premises where the marijuana plants are growing and for personal use only the marijuana produced by no more than six (6) marijuana plants.

(D) Any person who grows marijuana in a place that is not enclosed or locked, or grows marijuana in an open or public manner, commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100).

6-12-3:  DISPLAY, CONSUMPTION, OR USE:  Any person who openly and publicly displays, consumes, or uses not more than one (1) ounce of marijuana commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished, at a minimum, by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or, at a maximum, by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) and by imprisonment for fifteen (15) days; exept that transportation of marijuana plants for personal use shall be permitted as set forth in Article XVIII, Section 16, of the Colorado Constitution.

6-12-4:  PROHIBITION ON CITY PROPERTY:  (2001)  It shall be unlawful to possess, consume, use, display, transfer, distribute, sell, purchase, transport or grow any amount of marijuana on any property owned, leased or controlled by the City.  A violation of this Section is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both, as provided in Section 1-8-1, W.M.C.

6-12-5:  PERMITTED USE:  (2001)  The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to a person who possesses or uses marijuana as permitted by state or federal law.

6-12-6:  POSSESION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA:  (2781 3646)

(A) DRUG PARAPHERNALIA DETERMINATION, CONSIDERATIONS:  In determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court, in its discretion, may consider, in addition to all other relevant factors, the following:

(1) Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use.

(2) The proximity of the object to controlled substances.

(3) The existence of any residue or controlled substances on the object.

(4) Direct or circumstantial evidence of the knowledge of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, or evidence that such person reasonably should know that it will be delivered to persons who such person knows or reasonably should know could use the object to facilitate a violation of this Section.

(5) Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use.

(6) Descriptive materials accompanying the object that explain or depict its use.

(7) National or local advertising concerning its use.

(8) The manner in which the object is displayed for sale.

(9) Whether the owner, or anyone in control of the object, is a supplier of like or related items to the community for legal purposes, such as an authorized distributor or dealer of tobacco products.

(10) The existence and scope of legal uses for the object in the community.

(11) Expert testimony concerning its use.

(C)  UNLAWFUL ACTS:  It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any drug paraphernalia if such person knows or reasonably should have known that the drug paraphernalia could be used in a manner which would violate the laws of this State or of this City.

(D)    PENALTY:  Any person who possesses drug paraphernalia in violation of this Section commits a violation of this Code and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).

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