(1) (a) The gray and black market marijuana enforcement grant program is created in the division. The division shall award grants to local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys to cover, in part or in full, investigation and prosecution costs associated with unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations conducted in violation of state law. (b) The division shall: (I) Solicit and review applications for grants from local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys; and (II) Select local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys to receive grants to cover costs associated with the investigation and prosecution of unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations conducted in violation of state law. (c) Grants awarded by the executive director of the department of local affairs pursuant to this subsection (1) shall be prioritized to: (I) Provide necessary financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in rural areas to address unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations conducted in violation of state law; (II) Support local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in investigating and prosecuting large-scale unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations conducted in violation of state law; (III) Provide necessary financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime involved in unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations conducted in violation of state law; or (IV) Provide necessary financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of unlicensed marijuana cultivation or distribution operations that divert marijuana outside of Colorado. (2) The general assembly may annually appropriate money from the marijuana tax cash fund created in section 39-28.8-501 to the division to make the grants described in subsection (1) of this section and for the division's reasonable administrative expenses related to the grants. Any unexpended and unencumbered money from an appropriation made pursuant to this subsection (2) remains available for expenditure by the division in the next fiscal year without further appropriation. (3) The division shall adopt policies and procedures that are necessary for the administration of the grant program, including the application process and the grant award criteria. (4) (a) On or before November 1, 2019, and on or before November 1 each year thereafter, the division shall prepare a report regarding the effectiveness of the grant program and post the report on its website. (b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2024.) (5) As used in this section, "rural area" means: (a) A county with a population of less than two hundred thousand people, according to the most recently available population statistics of the United States bureau of the census; or (b) A municipality with a population of less than thirty thousand people, according to the most recently available population statistics of the United States bureau of the census, that is located ten miles or more from a municipality with a population of more than fifty thousand people.
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