COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed an Executive Order to ensure that no Coloradan is punished or denied a professional license for the possession, cultivation, or use of marijuana.

Polis’ executive order will protect individuals who consume, possess, cultivate or process marijuana from professional sanctions and from being denied a professional license. This includes individuals from other states.

“The exclusion of people from the workforce because of marijuana-related activities that are lawful in Colorado, but still criminally penalized in other states, hinders our residents, economy and our State,” said Polis.

The Executive Order directs the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Specialized Business Group and Marijuana Enforcement Division (DOR) to:

Protect Colorado’s workforce by ensuring Coloradans’ professions are not in jeopardy as a result of lawful marijuana-related conductNot provide information, data or use resources to aid in professional investigations related to legal marijuana-related activities in Colorado. 

Polis cited Amendment 64 of Colorado’s constitution that legalized marijuana in the state. In November 2012, the people of Colorado voted to regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol. The statewide marijuana industry created over 40,000 jobs and over $2 billion in state tax revenue, as per the Executive Order.

According to Polis, employers are having difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified employees due to the exclusion of people from the workforce because of marijuana-related activities.

This Executive Order ensures that all Coloradans are afforded protections and rights under Colorado law.