​Marijuana advocates who rallied across the street from the state Capitol Thursday had harsh words for lawmakers considering regulations for Colorado’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry.

“Keep your grubby hands off of medical marijuana!” shouted activist Robert Chase toward the Capitol building.

The Denver Post. About 200 marijuana backers attended the rally, timed to begin once Gov. Bill Ritter finished his State of the State speech, reports John Ingold of

Many of the speakers criticized legislative proposals to strictly regulate, or even effectively outlaw, the state’s growing number of medical marijuana dispensaries. Several of those speaking at the rally urged marijuana advocates to contact elected officials to lobby for the cause, often even as they cast the relationship between advocates and lawmakers as an adversarial one.