ICYMI: Colorado Leads in the News….
Pot industry to hold political fundraiser for party in opposition, The Daily Sentinel
It’s time to look beyond the clichés as cannabis comes of age in Colorado, Colorado Politics
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Progress: Big and Small
Longmont City Council lifts cannabis ban, approving an ordinance allowing up to four retail businesses to sell marijuana and marijuana products within the city limits. Read the story here.
Colorado looks to marijuana tax as budget fix
In last-minute negotiations between Colorado lawmakers on a major spending bill, a dubious budget fixer has emerged: marijuana taxes.
The tentative legislation unveiled this week seeks to extract additional money from Colorado’s burgeoning cannabis industry by raising the recreational marijuana special sales tax from 10 percent to the maximum 15 percent rate.
The new dollars are earmarked for rural schools and a tax break for business owners on personal property — two purposes that diverge from the original intent of voters who in 2013 approved Proposition AA imposing taxes on recreational marijuana.
Colorado House endorses bill to protect marijuana industry
Colorado’s House has endorsed a bill to allow recreational pot growers and retailers to reclassify their product as medical marijuana if federal marijuana policy changes.
The House voted on Wednesday to approve the bill , a bold attempt by a marijuana state to avoid federal intervention in its weed market.
It requires another formal vote before it’s sent back to the Senate, which passed a different version of the measure.
The bipartisan bill would let Colorado’s approximately 500 licensed recreational pot growers to instantly reclassify their weed. It says a switch could happen “based on a business need due to a change in local, state of federal law or enforcement policy.”
The Trump administration has given mixed signals on its plans for states that don’t enforce federal drug law.
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Colorado’s US senators want to legalize banking for marijuana
Colorado’s two U.S. Senators are leading a new bipartisan effort to provide banking for marijuana businesses.
Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner are co-sponsors of the legislation.
“The lack of access to banking services for marijuana businesses is a key issue in Colorado,” Bennet said.
“It raises significant public safety concerns for both employees and customers of these businesses and creates compliance and oversight challenges. This common-sense bill would address those issues by allowing our banking system to serve marijuana businesses that are in compliance with state laws.”