A United States District Court judge officially upheld Colorado’s ban on pot-related magazines unconstitutional Tuesday, putting the matter to the grave once and for all with a permanent injunction.

The ruling came after several parties suing the state reached an agreement with the court that kept the whole issue from going through a lengthy hearing.



This is the second ruling to come down on the matter. The first came at the state level just a week after the bill was passed. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he wouldn’t go to court to defend the provision banning magazines in the newly passed state laws governing the recreational cannabis industry.

Suthers decision was in part prompted by several magazines, including High Times and The Hemp Connoisseur along with Colorado newspaper The Daily Doobie, that filed suit along against the provisions. The ACLU also filed suit on behalf of several booksellers, including Denver’s famous Tattered Cover.

Despite the ruling from Suthers, the groups went forward with their suits anyway just to end the issue once and for all. Noted First Amendment attorney David Lane, who represented the magazines and newspaper, was pleased with the federal judge’s ruling and thanked the ACLU for jumping on board.

“Once the magazines filed the first lawsuit, the ACLU came in a few days later — and I believe the presence of the ACLU, with their prestige and resources, was a difference-maker in this case,” Lane told the Denver Westword. That got Colorado’s attention very quickly, and they realized that they were going to be litigating against the A-team with the ACLU. I think that helped immeasurably.”

Read the entire ruling below:

Marijuana Magazine Law Permanent Injunction by Michael_Lee_Roberts