Colorado Laws and Programs

[Page 150]According to 2005–06 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 384,000 (10 percent) of Colorado citizens (ages 12 or older) reported past month use of an illicit drug, 295,000 (7.68 percent) reported past month marijuana use, and 162,000 (4.21 percent) reported past month use of an illicit drug other than marijuana. In 2006 the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reported 16,266 adult arrests for drug use violations, 31,130 adult arrests for driving under the influence, and 12,010 adult arrests for liquor law violations. The CBI (2006) also reported 3,627 juvenile arrests for drug use violations, 561 juvenile arrests for driving under the influence, and 5,490 juvenile arrests for liquor law violations.

Colorado criminal statutes, found under Title 18 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, encompass the same conduct as federal laws, but fines and sentences are generally less severe than at the federal level. The maximum penalty for the most serious offense (manufacture, sale, or distribution) is 16 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the least serious offense (possession of one ounce or less of marijuana) is a fine of $100.00.

Under Colorado law, the distribution of alcoholic beverages to any person under the age of 21, to an evidently intoxicated person, or to an identified alcoholic is prohibited. Violation of these laws is a misdemeanor punishable by fines up to $1,000 and a jail sentence of one year. However, such violations could constitute contributing to the delinquency of a minor, be determined a felony offense, and carry up to an eight-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. In 2008 Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed a bill allowing Coloradans to buy wine, spirits, and full-strength beer on Sundays, reversing a 75-year-old blue law that restricted Sunday alcohol sales to 3.2 percent beer from grocery and convenient stores.

The State of Colorado operates under expressed consent laws and prohibits a person from driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or while a person's ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drugs. These offenses fall under three main categories: DWAI: at least 0.05 percent but less than 0.08 percent alcohol content;

DUI: at least 0.08 percent blood alcohol content; and DUI or DWAI under 21 years old: at least 0.02 percent but not in excess of 0.05 percent blood alcohol content.

Under the principle of expressed consent law, any person operating a motor vehicle has already consented to take a blood, breath, saliva, or urine test when requested to do so by a law enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe that the person is DUI or DWAI. If a person refuses to take the requested test, it is admissible in court and carries a one-year license revocation. Other penalties are subsequently added to the end of the one-year revocation. In Colorado, there are both criminal penalties (fines, imprisonment, and public service) and administrative penalties for DUI or DWAI. Administrative penalties include “points” assessed against a person's license, and the suspension or revocation of the license.

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