Amendment X would remove industrial hemp’s definition from the state constitution to enable state legislators to respond more quickly to changes made at the federal level for industrial hemp growers. A definition for industrial hemp was added to the Colorado Constitution when voters approved Amendment 64, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2012. Hemp is part of the cannabis family, but is used for products such as clothes and rope. The amendment requires 55 percent support to pass.
Ballot question: “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning changing the industrial hemp definition from a constitutional definition to a statutory definition?”
The case in favor: Colorado, the leading producer of industrial hemp in the United States, is the only state that has the definition in its constitution. Removing it would aid the state’s competitiveness in an area with frequent federal regulatory changes.
The case against: Colorado voters added the definition of industrial hemp to the constitution through the initiative process.
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