News

New Member Spotlight: Apothecary Farms

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We are excited to welcome Apothecary Farms to Colorado Leads as a new member of Colorado Leads!

Since 2015, Apothecary Farms has been one of Colorado’s premier cannabis dispensaries, offering both medical and recreational cannabis in extract and flower form. It has physical cannabis stores in Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo), as well as multiple locations in Oklahoma.  Apothecary Farms is committed to serving its customers, educating the community, and producing connoisseur quality extracts (Apothecary Extracts), and it is proud to be Colorado’s first extract-focused cannabis dispensary.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

New Member Spotlight: IDY Distributors

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We are excited to welcome IDY Distributors to Colorado Leads as our latest social equity member!

IDY Distributors, a social equity owned company, is a leading distributor of regulated market cannabis products and a national fulfillment center for hemp-derived products. Since 2014, it has been providing quality and trusted transportation of products all across the state, ensuring all products its clients purchase and sell are 100% compliant. IDY takes the hassle and the risk out of buying wholesale product from third-party brokers, offering customize procurement and market analysis to help businesses grow.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

New Member Spotlight: DŌSD Edibles

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We are excited to welcome DŌSD Edibles to Colorado Leads!

DŌSD Edibles is a leading Colorado cannabis product manufacturer that combines nano-molecular technology with high-quality ingredients to produce the ultimate edible experience. Its current product offerings include multiple award-winning Nano Bite gummies infused with water-soluble cannabinoids for increased bioavailability and a quicker onset compared to traditional edibles.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

New Member Spotlight: AlphaRoot

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We are excited to welcome AlphaRoot to Colorado Leads!

AlphaRoot is a full-service insurance brokerage that focuses exclusively in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, holistic medicine and psychedelic industries. It works with companies across the entire supply chain, from seed to sale, as well as ancillary and capital providers. The AlphaRoot team is heavily invested in these industries, and its goal is to help companies scale to propel them forward.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

Denver Marijuana Tax Revenue Exceeds Half a Billion Dollars

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DENVER — According to news reports, data released this week by the city of Denver shows tax revenue from legal marijuana sales has generated more than half a billion dollars for the city since 2010. The news comes less than a couple weeks after the Colorado Department of Revenue announced state marijuana tax revenue has exceeded $2.5 billion.

From 2010 to August 2023, regulated cannabis businesses conducted about $5.7 billion in legal sales of adult-use and medical marijuana, producing $501,538,144 in local tax revenue. The revenue has been used to support affordable housing ($61.7 million), homelessness services ($30 million), education ($27 million), small business investment ($10 million), and opioid intervention ($4 million).

“Colorado’s cannabis industry has fulfilled legalization’s promise of substantial tax revenue for our state and local communities,” said Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors at Colorado Leads. “These businesses are not only generating revenue, but also creating jobs, utilizing the products and services of other local businesses, and making charitable contributions to a wide range of local causes.”

Earlier this month, Colorado Leads hosted a golf tournament that raised thousands of dollars for the Denver Assessment, Intake, and Diversion (AID) Center, a crucial connection point to comprehensive community and systems-based services for justice-involved individuals and others.

“While our economic impacts tend to grab the headlines, we are most proud of our industry’s commitment to regulatory compliance and enhancing public safety,” Smith said. “Regulated marijuana businesses ensure adults who choose to consume cannabis can purchase it safely and legally. They also take great care to prevent cannabis from being sold to minors.”

Late last week, the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division announced the compliance rate for underage sales checks reached a record high 99% in 2022.

Colorado Underage Marijuana Sales Compliance Reaches Record High 99%

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The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division announced this week that the compliance rate for underage sales checks reached a record high 99% in 2022.

Marijuana Moment reports:

Colorado marijuana regulators announced this week that out of 285 underage sales checks conducted at state-licensed cannabis stores this year, there have been only four failures—a compliance rate of about 99 percent.

“While any failure is unacceptable,” the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) said in the latest issue of its quarterly In the Weeds newsletter on Monday, “we’re pleased to report this very high compliance rate which is on par with the compliance percentage from 2022.”

While compliance rates reached a record high last year, they have long been in line (or often better) than compliance rates for alcohol and tobacco sellers. This may be one reason why rates of teen cannabis use have not increased — and even declined — since Colorado legalized cannabis for adults back in 2012.

 

Colorado Surpasses $15 Billion in Legal Marijuana Sales, $2.5 Billion in Tax Revenue

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More than $15 billion in regulated marijuana sales have taken place in Colorado, generating more than $2.5 billion in tax revenue, since legal adult sales began in 2014, according to a news release from the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Specifically, the state has seen $15,028,995,376 in total legal sales (medical and adult-use) as of August, producing $2,554,160,551 in state tax revenue as of September. This tax figure does not include the hundreds of millions of dollars produced by local sales taxes and special marijuana taxes collected by local governments.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in state marijuana excise tax revenue has been distributed to the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Fund, which provides funding for school construction projects. Marijuana tax funds have also been allocated to a wide range of other areas, from mental health and treatment services to bullying and dropout prevention programs.

Statement Regarding the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s Approval of the SAFER Banking Act

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DENVER — Colorado Leads released the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s approval of the Safe and Secure Enforcement and Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act.

Statement from Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors for Colorado Leads:

“We applaud the Senate Banking Committee for advancing the SAFER Banking Act. Ensuring state-legal cannabis businesses have adequate access to banking and other financial services is critical to protecting public safety and the safety of cannabis businesses and their employees. It would also help smaller businesses and social equity operators, who are more severely impacted by the lack of loans, banking, and other financial products.

“Legal cannabis businesses need banking and financial services just as much as other legal businesses, and this bill would be a big step toward achieving parity. We hope Congress will work quickly to get this legislation approved and over to the president for his signature.”

Colorado Leads Welcomes Jerrico Perez to the Board of Directors

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We are pleased to welcome Jerrico Perez to the Colorado Leads Board of Directors!

Jerrico Perez is a partner at Vicente LLP, where she focuses her practice on administrative law, regulatory compliance, and national marijuana business applications. Jerrico assists cannabis business owners and other associated individuals and entities with regulatory, licensing, and compliance issues, and has successfully represented clients in state and local hearings, negotiating and resolving regulatory disciplinary actions, and successfully appealing and seeking judicial review of final agency actions. She has also helped her clients receive licenses in multiple competitive and non-competitive application processes, including Colorado, Ohio, Hawaii, California, Maryland, and Canada. In a constantly-evolving legal landscape, clients look to Jerrico to help them navigate the complex regulations governing the production, manufacture, and distribution of cannabis and cannabis products in the United States and abroad.

As a board member of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, Jerrico participates on the organization’s legal committee. She has been recognized by her peers in the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” list since 2021 for her work in administrative/regulatory law and in 5280 magazine’s “Denver’s Top Lawyers” list since 2022 for marijuana law.

Statement Regarding Historic Federal Marijuana Rescheduling Recommendation

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Colorado Leads released the following statement in response to reports that top U.S. health officials are recommending the Drug Enforcement Administration reclassify cannabis to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Currently, cannabis is classified under Schedule I, which is reserved for the most dangerous substances that have no medical value and high potential for abuse.

Statement from Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors for Colorado Leads:

“The HHS rescheduling recommendation marks a historic step toward federal cannabis policy reform. For over a decade, Colorado has been demonstrating states’ ability to effectively regulate cannabis for medical and broader adult use, and it’s time for federal law to reflect that reality. State-legal cannabis businesses that create jobs, pay taxes, and provide adults and medical patients with safe and legal access to cannabis deserve to be treated fairly, and this would be a big step in that direction.

“While descheduling would more comprehensively roll back federal prohibition, rescheduling to Schedule III represents meaningful progress that carries significant benefits. It would greatly alleviate the unfair federal tax burden and lack of access to banking and financial services that cannabis businesses have shouldered for years. It would also remove barriers to research that have long prevented us from fully understanding the plant and all of its medical benefits. When it comes to addressing the wide range of criminal justice implications associated with prohibition, Schedule III does not go nearly far enough. But it would help pave the way for those important reforms and reduce the scope of criminal liability that Americans currently face when operating or working for state-legal cannabis companies.”