Who Tweeted It?
“#TBT That time I rode a car with an Oregon cannabis business owner to deliver a $70,000 tax payments.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
News
Members in the news
Dixie Brands has made impressive strides to expand its footprint in the United States and in Latin America.
Lessons cannabis firms can learn from the craft beer industry
Q&A with Nug’s Ted Whitney
Spoiler alert: “The American consumer has the most annoyingly short attention span ever.”
Hickenlooper on cannabis
The latest on where former Colorado governor and current Presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper stands on cannabis.
Mayor speaks to Colorado Leads
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock spoke to both the Colorado Leads board and its members Tuesday, noting that the Colorado cannabis industry is a “model for the world.”
Presidential Candidate Quotable . . .
“I think (cannabis) gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who wants to legalize marijuana across the nation if elected president.
Bulletins from the Beltway
Free from the Feds?
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden introduced legislation in the Senate — The Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act— that would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), establish a federal excise tax on legal sales and create a system of permits for businesses to engage in cannabis commerce. This would allow states to establish their own cannabis regulations free from federal interference.
Wyden also introduced another piece of legislation exempting state-legal cannabis businesses from what is known as 280(E), which prevents them from taking normal business tax deductions that are available to operators in other industries. Co-sponsors include Colorado’s senior U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
From “unalterably opposed” to legalization to “I’m all in”
Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner announced a new, industry-funded group to lobby for marijuana reform in banking, taxes and research in an effort to overhaul federal cannabis policy.
Marijuana Business Daily Article »
Riding the hemp wave
The USDA is now working to implement plans for increased hemp research and provision of oversight to state plans for growing hemp. As the USDA makes laws clearer, CBD retailers will enter the U.S. market in a major wave.
For a look at the growth of Colorado’s hemp industry:
Headlines
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.”
America’s first cannabis governor and the challenges ahead
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
Polis underscores support for cannabis initiatives with inaugural program
The new Colorado governor had his ceremonial schedule printed on hemp paper.
Julian Castro supports state’s rights on cannabis
Presidential candidates says “growing evidence from Colorado and other states suggests we can sensibly legalize marijuana use with reasonable controls in place. State voters should have that power.”
New Congress, new cannabis caucus
With Gov. Jared Polis’s departure from Congress, the caucus will be led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-California, Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Rep. Don Young, R-Arkansas.
Legal cannabis five years later
Retail cannabis sales are booming in Colorado, and so are the state coffers. But much of the bad predicted to accompany legal sales have not materialized. Alternet looks at five impacts the industry has had in Colorado.
Yes, we’re in Colorado but “Florida Man” news is always entertaining
A Florida man is in jail for trying to pay for his food at a McDonald’s drive-thru with a bag of marijuana.