News

Critical Research

/in , /by

Medical Use

Colorado State University’s Institute of Cannabis Research will launch a national, medical cannabis patient data registry. Estimates suggest that more than 1 million U.S. citizens legally consume cannabis to relieve symptoms from such diseases as multiple sclerosis, HIV, cancer or epilepsy, according to the university.

Read More »

Opioid 

An academic analysis from The City University of New York indicates that “the 2012 legalization policy in Colorado appears to reduce the number of deaths due to opioid overdoses.”

Read More »

Driving 

The Colorado School of Public Health is searching for volunteers for a study on how cannabis affects the operation of motor vehicles.

Read More »

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news . . . 

/in , /by

Turns out Thomas Jefferson – diplomat, architect, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States – did not smoke marijuana and did not draft the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper, according to all available evidence. 

We know. We were all shocked by the claim (we see you, Facebook).  Both Politifact and Monticello weigh in here. 

Things that make you go “Hmmmmmm”

/in , , /by

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods said that “chances are good” the company will begin selling marijuana products in its stores as more states legalize. He also mentioned the company would consider selling “alternative proteins” such as insects.  More »

This may be a golden business opportunity for former Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, who planned to start a cricket farm after leaving his position last year. The former top prosecutor eats cricket powder himself, and said he believes insect protein will be part of the sustainable food system of the future with the increase in global warming.  More »

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who calls himself a soldier in the global campaign to legalize marijuana, joined the board of directors for Denver-based Helix TCS. Fox is also on the board of High Times.  Más »

Things that make you go “Wait. WHAT? Seriously?!”

/in , , , /by

Maybe it’s the potential money. Maybe it’s Snoop’s influence. Or maybe she overly embraced her prison nickname (M. Diddy).  But Martha Stewart has  teamed up with a Canadian cannabis company to create and promote a new line of hemp-based CBD products. Stewart is joining the Canadian marijuana company Canopy Growth as an adviser to help them develop cannabis products for people and their pets. It’s unclear if Stewart’s products will be served in one of her famous decorative gourds.

Stewart will join her friend Snoop, who together co-host the VH1 talk show “Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party.”  Snoop Dogg has partnered with Canopy for the last three years.  

Denver Post Article »

Hawaii, yes liberal Hawaii which is considered politically left of California, decided not to legalize adult-use cannabis.  Again.

Here it is »

 

Presidential Candidate Quotable . . . 

/in , , /by

“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. 

Read More »

Bulletins from the Beltway 

/in , , , /by

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.

Forbes Article »

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.

Read More »

For a look at the growth of Colorado’s hemp industry:

Colorado Sun Article »

Colorado Cannabis Companies Continue To be Viewed as Legitimate Businesses

/in , , /by

Colorado’s congressional delegation is being criticized by an anti-marijuana group for taking campaign contributions from the cannabis industry. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter not only shrugged off the criticism, he defended the industry. 

 “Colorado voters spoke resoundingly, not once but twice, in legalizing medical and recreational marijuana,” said Perlmutter spokesman Austin Blumenfeld. “It is a legitimate business in the state of Colorado. Rep. Perlmutter’s focus in this area is to align federal and state laws to allow these legitimate businesses to have access to the financial industry. Without this access we are putting the safety of the public, employees and law enforcement at risk.”

Read More »

And what is more than the Better Business Bureau?  The Greater Denver’s Better Business Bureau  is now accrediting cannabis companies as it does businesses in any other industry.  

Read More » 

. . .  But Don’t Spike the Ball Just Yet 

/in /by

CBS, which broadcasts the Super Bowl, rejected an ad submitted by Acreage Holdings, a medical cannabis company that operates in 11 states,  to run during the game. The network said the ad was “not consistent with the network’s advertising policies,”  and that it does “not currently accept cannabis-related advertising.”

Vox Article »

The key word here may be “currently.”  Along with TV, Facebook, Google, Twitter and even Instagram (at times) prohibits marijuana ads. However, times are changing and the conversations are “expanding.” 

Denver Post Article »

Headlines

/in , , , , /by

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.

Read More »

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.

Read More »

America’s first cannabis  governor and the challenges ahead

/in , , , , , /by

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 »