New Laws In Colorado For 2018: Minimum Wage; Teen Sexting; Pot

COLORADO -- A new year brings new laws. Here are some new Colorado laws that go into effect in 2018:

Minimum Wage
Perhaps the biggest change Colorado workers will see come Jan. 1 is the minimum wage. The minimum wage will increase $10.20 per hour thanks to Amendment 70, which was passed by Colorado voters in 2016. The minimum wage will increase each year under the amendment until it reaches $12 per hour in January 2020.

Teen Sexting
The state is cracking down on sexting among juveniles. Beginning Jan. 1, there will be punishments for juveniles who are found sexting. The punishments range from courses where children can learn about the consequences of sharing nude photos to a misdemeanor count, according to The Greeley Tribune. The newspaper reported that in some cases teenagers can be charged with sexual exploitation.

Protecting Debtors
Frustrated with debt collection agencies? Beginning Jan. 1, collection agencies will have to prove a chain of custody of debt before they can sue the debtors. The law, which is meant to protect debtors, also allows the Attorney General's Office to investigate claims against collection agencies who may have violated the law.

New Marijuana rules

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, marijuana rules regarding packaging and research for medical and recreational marijuana will go into effect, the Colorado Dept. of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division announced. The focus of the new rules is on public health and safety, said Mike Hartman, executive director of the Colorado Dept. of Revenue

“These rules help to ensure that all marijuana that comes into the market is not contaminated, accurately labeled and stays out of the hands of children,” said Hartman, in a statement. “Additionally, these new licenses offer opportunities for research and development in this industry, so collectively, the state and the industry can maintain the emphasis on public health and safety.”

Changes to marijuana labels will include rules so the 1) "no packaging containing marijuana is made to appeal to minors" and 2) "no marijuana is contained in packageseasily opened by minors." Tweaks to packaging laws also will include label requirements that easily spell out public health and safety disclaimers with less "white noise effect" in package design, a statement from the MED said.

Contaminant tests are required to be verified each time a cannabis vendor renews a license, the MED announced.

The MED also adjusted the tracking of product as it is used for industry research and development (as described in HB17-1367) by creating two new licenses for R & D facilities and grows.

"To continue supporting a closed loop system, all medical and retail marijuana, concentrate and
product to be transferred to research and development licensees must be tracked in the state’s
inventory tracking system," a statement by the MED said.

Read more here.

Image via Shutterstock.

Hoa Quách, Patch Staff contributed to this article