And what a difference five years makes! Today, Colorado can proudly claim to have laid the groundwork for the safe and responsible introduction of legal marijuana, a framework that was being studied and replicated around the world last year as the industry celebrated a year of global gains.
The Denver Post take a close look at five years of marijuana legalization here in Colorado, as well as the promises and challenges that lie ahead.
Denver has seen the biggest revenue boost from the cannabis industry, the newspaper reports. But many other businesses, communities, and programs have also benefited.
The amount of money local governments will receive approach $80 million in 2018, according to The Post’s calculations. And it’s it’s the smaller places that have realized the greatest benefits.
Westword talks to Sean Azzariti, a Marine Corps veteran, cannabis activist and medical marijuana patient consultant who made the first legal purchase of adult-use marijuana in Colorado on Jan. 1, 2014.
New CATO report shows legal cannabis most effective for reducing cross-border marijuana smuggling.
Wholesale prices increased moderately last quarter, spelling good news for state coffers.
CNN report on New Year’s Eve 2017 sparked ongoing debate over social consumption laws.
“Being from Colorado, it is hard to think about federal criminal justice reform without thinking about the biggest problem the federal criminal law creates for Colorado: the refusal to respect the will of Coloradans when it comes to marijuana. Every day, Coloradans of good faith follow Colorado law to a T, yet they are still criminals in the eyes of the federal government. Cancer patients using medical marijuana to control their pain and veterans who are using marijuana to alleviate the PTSD they suffer because they served their country – federal law says they are criminals. The People do not think that. So the federal law should change.”
January 9
CanopyBoulder public demonstration day
January 15
CanopyBoulder Jumpstart Conference for entrepreneurs
January 26 and 27
Indo Expo Denver
New research shows the cannabis industry is far outpacing the tech sector in job creation and is on target to create more than 250,000 jobs by 2020.
In addition to new high-paying careers like bud tenders and trimmers, a host of security opportunities also abound.
Still, marijuana businesses face unique HR challenges.
That was among the topics of discussion at the second Aspen High Summit, which brought together cannabis entrepreneurs and investors, the entertainment industry and the state’s top marijuana regulator.
Attendees at the Aspen High Summit were “serious business people and serious makers of medicine, they’re Ph. D’s, MD’s,” said summit organizer Jim Lewi. “They’re not going for the highest THC product in the world, they are trying to normalize it.”
“It has become much less stigmatized. Seniors talk to their peers, and they say, I got relief when I used this on my shoulder or my knee. I would say probably two in 10 have used some formulation [of marijuana or cannabis products].”