City moves to tighten oversight of age-restricted psychoactive products
Fort Collins is considering a local ordinance and a retailer licensing program designed to reduce minors' access to tobacco and a range of psychoactive products sold outside regulated marijuana shops. City Council and Fort Collins Police Services staff have framed the proposal as a remedy for enforcement gaps that leave certain products, including intoxicating hemp, kratom, synthetic cannabinoids and psilocybin lookalikes, subject to inconsistent oversight.
The proposed rules would apply to retailers such as smoke shops, gas stations, drug stores and grocery stores. Officials stressed the measure would not apply to CBD products because they are not considered psychoactive, nor to licensed medical or retail marijuana stores, which are already regulated under an existing local licensing program.
- Covered products: intoxicating hemp, kratom, synthetic cannabinoids, psilocybin lookalikes, tobacco and nicotine products.
- Excluded: CBD; licensed medical or retail marijuana stores.
- Targeted retailers: smoke shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, drug stores and similar vendors.
City staff described the impetus for the change during a July 28 work session with council, highlighting complaints from parents whose children obtained intoxicating products from non-marijuana retailers. Fort Collins Police Services' marijuana compliance officer, Jim Lenderts, told the council that receipts often showed purchases from smoke shops rather than licensed marijuana retailers.
"Parents would call, and I'm going to tell you they were very angry. 'How did my kid get marijuana?'" Lenderts said. "But a review of receipts would reveal that the source wasn't a marijuana retailer but smoke shops, and the product was not marijuana but other products, such as legal hemp, which has a much lower rate of THC than marijuana but is still intoxicating."
Lenderts and city staff say enforcement of underage sales involving intoxicating hemp, synthetic marijuana, kratom or psilocybin-like products has been inconsistent because responsibility is split between state regulators and local law enforcement. Currently, the Colorado Liquor and Tobacco Enforcement Division handles tobacco and nicotine licensing; the state's Marijuana Enforcement Division oversees licensed marijuana retailers. But neither structure, officials say, provides a straightforward mechanism to hold non-marijuana retailers accountable when they sell intoxicating products to minors.
Under the present system, Fort Collins police may cite the clerk who makes an illegal sale, but lack authority to penalize the license holder when the business itself is not governed by a local license tied to those products. Lenderts told council that the state agency will not pursue penalties against a license holder unless its investigator personally witnesses the violation — a limitation compounded by statewide coverage responsibilities and recent budget cuts that reduce investigator presence in Fort Collins.
What the ordinance would change
City staff say a local ordinance and merchant licensing program would allow Fort Collins to directly hold retailers accountable for sales of age-restricted psychoactive products to minors. That could include fines, suspension or other local penalties tied to the retailer's license, rather than relying solely on citations against individual clerks.
| Product type | Current regulator noted in session | Potential local action |
|---|---|---|
| Tobacco and nicotine | State Liquor and Tobacco Enforcement Division | Local licensing, enforcement and penalties |
| Licensed marijuana | State Marijuana Enforcement Division; local marijuana licensing | No change; already locally licensed |
| Intoxicating hemp, kratom, synthetic cannabinoids, psilocybin lookalikes | State agencies with limited coverage; currently enforcement gaps | New local license and ordinance to enable penalties |
Council members and staff have not finalized the language of the ordinance, and public hearings or additional work sessions are expected as the city refines the licensing framework. The conversation so far has centered on balancing the need to protect minors with clarity for retailers about which products and businesses will be subject to new rules.
Supporters of tighter local controls argue the change would close a practical enforcement gap and give the city tools to prevent underage access to intoxicating products sold outside the regulated marijuana market. Retailers and industry groups have not been quoted in the city's public materials so far; if proposed regulations move forward, stakeholders can expect outreach and formal comment periods before any ordinance is adopted.
The Fort Collins proposal reflects broader state-level questions about emerging products that mimic marijuana's effects but fall outside conventional regulatory categories. As elected officials weigh the local licensing program, parents and community groups are likely to follow the issue closely given the complaints from families whose children have obtained intoxicating products at local retailers.
