People v. Lente

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court held that unlicensed extraction of hash oil from marijuana using butane constitutes manufacturing marijuana, not protected personal-use processing under Amendment 64 to the Colorado Constitution. The court rejected the defendant’s as-applied constitutional, overbreadth, and vagueness challenges to section 18-18-406(2)(a)(I), C.R.S. The court reversed the district court’s dismissal of the charge and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Under Amendment 64, extracting hash oil from marijuana is manufacturing marijuana, not processing marijuana plants, and unlicensed hash-oil extraction is not a protected personal use.
2. Section 18-18-406(2)(a)(I) is not unconstitutional as applied to Lente because Amendment 64 does not protect his unlicensed hash-oil extraction.
3. Lente failed to establish that section 18-18-406(2)(a)(I) is unconstitutionally overbroad or vague as applied to his conduct.

Questions Presented

1. Whether extracting hash oil from marijuana using butane constitutes protected personal-use processing of marijuana plants under Amendment 64 to the Colorado Constitution or constitutes unlicensed manufacturing.
2. Whether section 18-18-406(2)(a)(I), C.R.S. (2016), is unconstitutional as applied to Lente because it conflicts with Amendment 64.
3. Whether the statute is unconstitutionally overbroad or vague as applied to Lente.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded