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New Land Use And Water Policy Geographies In Emerging Cannabis Markets: The Case Of Pueblo County, Colorado, Jason Adam Kikel

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Voters and legislatures throughout the country are winding down the War on Drugs and legalizing marijuana for medical and retail use. While many regulatory decisions are made at state capitals nationwide, the marijuana landscape is largely shaped by local authorities exercising influence through land use planning. Over a decade after passing a voter-initiated medical marijuana program, Colorado voters approved a State Constitutional Amendment fully legalizing marijuana for adult use. The "Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act of 2012" made Colorado the first state to legalize the sale, taxation, and possession of marijuana through a commercial market. Local governments were given the …