News

Legislative Update

April 11, 2019/in Legislation, Medicinal, Uncategorized /by Admin

With less than four weeks left until the end of the Colorado legislative session, lawmakers are acting on several cannabis-related bills ranging from cannabis delivery to public investment to tasting rooms. One, a bill adding autism spectrum disorders as a medical cannabis-qualifying condition, was already signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Chuck Smith, president of Colorado Leads, was quoted in The Denver Post about the need for public and private investment in the cannabis industry.

Both the cannabis delivery and hospitality bills advanced in the House.

The state’s current medical and recreational marijuana laws are set to sunset in September of this year, so lawmakers have been reviewing the laws and regulations.

And The Colorado Sun looked at the increasing political clout wielded by Colorado’s cannabis industry.

Inside the Beltway . . .

April 11, 2019/in Legislation, Medicinal, Politics, Science, Uncategorized /by Admin

The National Institute on Drug Abuse released a job posting seeking a contractor to roll marijuana joints “within a range of varying concentrations of delta-9-THC and analyze strength and stability of them.”

The Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a public hearing on CBD regulations for May 31.

Autism Advance

February 13, 2019/in Medicinal, Politics /by Admin

Colorado’s House last week passed a bill 63-0 allowing medical marijuana for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The Senate is expected to pass it as well, and Gov. Jared Polis has pledged to sign it.

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed a similar bill last year – as well as another bill allowing publicly traded corporations to invest in marijuana businesses. At the time, Hickenlooper said that if the autism bill was signed into law, “we end up, without question, in some way encouraging more young people to look at this as an antidote for their problems.”

Hickenlooper is now touring the country as he considers a presidential bid, touting Colorado’s cannabis industry. He noted at an event hosted by The Brookings Institution that he was “famously against” legalization, especially because of the possibility that more teenagers might increase their consumption, but that now “we’re seeing evidence that the new system [of marijuana legalization] is intrinsically better” than prohibition. “We haven’t seen a spoke in teenage consumption… our worst fears have not happened,” he said.

Hmm.

Headlines

February 13, 2019/in Businesses, Health, Medicinal, People /by Admin

Pain Relief

Chronic pain is the most common reason people give when they enroll in state-approved medical marijuana programs. That’s followed by stiffness from multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-related nausea, according to an analysis of 15 states published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.

Members in the News

Colorado Leads member LivWells buys a Fort Collins Infinite Wellness Center

Willie’s Remedy

Willie Nelson officially launched his brand Willie’s Remedy and its first product: coffee infused with “certified organic, full-spectrum hemp oil grown in Colorado.”

Headlines

January 30, 2019/in Health, Legislation, Local, Medicinal, Uncategorized /by Admin

Vetoed Autism Bill Returns

A bill – similar to the one vetoed last year by then-Gov. John Hickenlooper – that would allow Coloradans with autism to use medical marijuana cleared its first legislative hurdle last week.

A Cannabis Oasis

The only two adult-use cannabis shops in El Paso County are a financial boon to Manitou Springs. Mayor Ken Jaray said a recent project to bury cable lines previously suspended on telephone poles would not have been possible without the taxes the city brings in from the two shops. The fund the city uses for these types of projects, its Urban Renewal Authority, climbed from an average of $34,000 a year before recreational marijuana, to $1.2 million in 2016.

Coast to Coast

January 30, 2019/in Economy, Health, Medicinal /by Admin

There isn’t as much gold as expected coming out of the Golden State. California is expected to collect $630 million less in revenue than what Gov. Jerry Brown projected in his last budget. There is so much marijuana being manufactured (15.5 million pounds) that the state now has far more surplus than it actually consumes (2.5 million pounds).

On the other side of the country, people suffering from opioid addiction now qualify for medical marijuana in New Jersey.

America’s first cannabis governor and the challenges ahead

January 16, 2019/in Economy, Legislation, Medicinal, People, Politics, Uncategorized /by Admin

Gov. Jared Polis, considered the most industry friendly governor in the country, takes the reins at a crucial time for Colorado as the state’s regulations come under review and as at least one bordering state considers developing its own legal cannabis industry. The marijuana industry is optimistic Polis will champion its cause to keep the industry growing and moving legislation that his predecessor vetoed.
Colorado Sun Article »

Indeed, several new marijuana bills were among the first filed as the legislature opened, including a new attempt to add autism spectrum disorders to conditions that qualify patients for medical cannabis; another would make people eligible if they have a condition under which a doctor would prescribe opiates.
Reporter Herald Article »

Polis takes office as marijuana sales show signs of leveling off after five years of constant and dramatic growth. New state figures show Colorado has logged over $1.4 billion worth of medical and recreational marijuana sales from January to November 2018, just $93 million behind 2017. And while a dramatic surge is not expected, Colorado is still on pace to finish the year slightly ahead of the year before.
Summit Daily Article »

While sales remain strong in Colorado today, will the state’s industry be impacted by a change in leadership across the border? The Albuquerque Journal takes a look at legislation being proposed to legalize cannabis in New Mexico under a new Democratic governor.
Albuquerque Journal Article »

Headlines

December 12, 2018/in Crime, Health, Legislation, Medicinal, People, Uncategorized /by Admin

Wipe low-level marijuana convictions clean?

That’s what The Denver Post editorial board proposes, noting that laws have “adapted to meet the realization dawning over America that marijuana is a relatively safe drug.”

Cause for concern?

What President Trump’s pick for AG could mean for the marijuana industry.

Cannabis and Alzheimer’s

Harvard’s McLean Psychiatric Hospital is partnering with Spier Family Foundation to research the potential benefits.

Following the money

As legalization spreads, the Associated Press looks at which U.S. companies are getting into on the marijuana industry.

Looking ahead

Will new legislature be more cannabis friendly?

Headlines

November 28, 2018/in Medicinal, News, Tax, Uncategorized /by Admin

As cannabis prices fall, states may have to go back to the drawing board

Policy analysts says states like Colorado may have to rethink their taxing schemes.

Washtigton Post Article »

10^th Circuit to rule on cannabis workers protections

The appeals court will decide whether workers in Colorado’s legal marijuana industry are entitled to wage and hour protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Longmont gets first adult-use dispensary

Elected officials, city leaders and other celebrate the opening of Terrapin’s sixth store, the first in Longmont.

Times Call Article »

State awards $2.7 million for studies on therapeutic uses of cannabis

One will research marijuana as an alternative to opiods for chronic spine pain; the other will look at CBD and autism.

Headlines

July 24, 2018/in Economy, Health, Medicinal, People, Tax, Uncategorized /by Admin

Hickenlooper on cannabis and autism

Gov. John Hickenlooper talks to Slate about why he vetoed a bill allowing medical cannabis for autism. Hint: He repeats the claim that “certain people (with autism) that have an inclination to bipolar . . . can take this high THC marijuana and it will trigger a permanent response. In other words, make them almost schizophrenic.”

Cannabis builds new rec center for Aurora

A new $40 million recreation center is being funded entirely by Aurora’s marijuana tax revenue.

Legal cannabis credited for rising home values

New research by Economic Inquiry finds that legalizing retail sales of marijuana in Colorado increased housing values by about 6 percent.

Marijuana use on the rise, but not with kids

New state report shows cannabis consumption increasing in Colorado, but only among adults.

Read the Story »