Pot talk: Colorado site educates on marijuana laws

Colorado launched a new website last week that answers frequently asked questions about the legalization of marijuana in the state.

The site tackles the health impacts related to the drug’s use and also covers topics including resources for parents to talk to their children, information about driving while impaired and information about substance-abuse treatment.

“State agencies worked together to develop this website as a reliable resource for parents, consumers, tourists and others who want the facts about marijuana’s health effects and the laws in Colorado, ” said Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director and chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “We want people to know the laws and the long-term health impacts and to make responsible choices about marijuana use,”

The website features current, research-based information and resources from the Colorado departments of Transportation, Education, Revenue, Human Services, and Public Health and Environment.

The Department of Public Health and Environment requested $3.7 million from the state’s general assembly to keep the website up to date with current research and educational materials.

Over the course of the year, the department will be launching education campaigns that will have television and radio advertisements, along with a social media presence.

To promote the website, CBS affiliates will broadcast public service announcements in Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction through May 25.

Following years of debate, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a number of bills into law last May allowing for the recreational use of marijuana by the state’s residents. The first stores to sell the drug opened at the beginning of 2014.

Marijuana consumption is now permitted in the state in a similar manner to alcohol, but must be done in private and is limited to adults over 21.