On Nov. 6, Colorado became ground zero for the national debate about the legalization of marijuana. And, on Nov. 6, Colorado businesses and employers were thrown into the crossfire between national marijuana advocates and the federal government.

The Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance took a strong position in opposition to Amendment 64 during the 2012 election cycle. Amendment 64 created a constitutional right to use marijuana, subjecting employers to questions about their legal rights and obligations in their relationship to their employees, increasing costs of doing business and creating a negative economic development perception for the state.

With its passage, Colorado businesses are now left to contend with the consequences, intended and unintended — consequences that create many more questions than answers and, invariably, can only be answered through litigation, legislative action and federal intervention.

Contrary to federal law, Amendment 64 makes marijuana legal for anyone 21 and older, and furthermore, establishes a constitutional protection for use, rather than merely decriminalizing it, as is the case of medical marijuana.

In regard to employers, Amendment 64 purposefully