MAJOR COURT RULING REGARDING MARIJUANA
DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that there is no employment protection for people who use marijuana. In a split decision issued on Thursday, the court said marijuana use is still barred by the federal government, even though state-licensed marijuana use has been approved by voters and is considered lawful.
The ruling comes in a case filed by a quadriplegic man who was fired after he tested positive for marijuana, even though there was no indication he used it while on company property. Washington state voters also approved recreational pot use last fall.
COLORADO LOOKING TO COLLECT UNPAID PARKING TICKETS
DENVER (AP) – The state of Colorado may be holding back part of your tax refund because of unpaid parking tickets. The state is trying to collect on debt owed up to 20 years ago. If you were ticketed, the state wants to collect. At stake is hundreds of millions of dollars. The state says it is currently owed $720 million, including tickets and other unpaid debt. It turns out there are 430,000 active accounts right now the state is trying to collect. The tickets include parking on college campuses and other state property.
WEST SLOPE/MEXICO METH RING BUSTED
GRAND JUNCTION (AP) – A sweeping investigation by local and federal authorities has resulted in a grand jury indictment that accuses 36 people of selling pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine in Mesa County that was supplied by a source in Mexico.
According to an indictment suspects were moving the drugs to destinations that included southern California and Atlanta. Authorities said some of the suspects are still being rounded up.
PIZZA RESTAURANT KILLER LOSES DEATH PENALTY APPEAL
DENVER (AP) – Condemned killer Nathan Dunlap has lost his bid to challenge the procedure that Colorado will use to execute him. The Colorado Court of Appeals Thursday rejected Dunlap attorneys’ argument the state developed the lethal injection execution procedure without public input. The court sided with the state that argued the lethal injection execution procedure falls under the duties of the prisons director and don’t require public input. Dunlap was convicted and sentenced to die for the slaying of four people during a 1993 robbery of a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant in Aurora. He wounded another employee. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Dunlap’s appeal in February. Arapahoe District Judge William Sylvester set a May 1 hearing to designate a week in which Dunlap will be executed.
