News

Community Service Opportunity: Brothers Redevelopment Paint-A-Thon

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Join Colorado Leads board member company Native Roots for the Brothers Redevelopment Paint-A-Thon, an event that has become one of the state’s largest volunteer events serving older adults. Created in 1978, the Paint-A-Thon is a free service for older adults or disabled homeowners who need their homes painted but cannot afford a commercial paint job.

Volunteer teams are essential to the event’s success, donating their time and energy to paint the homes of deserving older adults. You can help continue the tradition by recruiting a team of 10-25 people and signing up to paint a home any day from now through September.
September.

On every Paint-A-Thon project, Brothers Redevelopment staff ensures homeowners meet age and income guidelines, screen the property for need and size of project, work with homeowners to determine their color choices, carry out all EPA regulations that pertain to lead-based paint. Brothers’ staff also will promote the project to local media outlets. After the project is complete, Brothers staff will inspect the house and pick up any unused supplies.

How It Works

A volunteer team leader takes ownership of the project in cooperation with Brothers Redevelopment staff. Other volunteers just need to arrive and participate on an exterior painting project.  Brothers’ staff are First Aid, CPR, and EPA Certified and will provide all painting tools, supplies, and materials including paint, ladders, rollers, brushes, and caulk, as well as direct the team’s work for the day.

Team leaders:

  • Recruit a team of volunteers.
  • Communicate with team on location of project and meeting time on the paint day.
  • Contact the older adult whose home you will paint (introduce yourself and confirm date and
    time of project).
  • Agree to finish painting the house, including final cleanup.
  • Publicize your team’s efforts (e.g., in your company newsletter).

To complete a volunteer form and organize your Paint-A-Thon event, contact Jason Stutzman, jasons@brothersredevelopment.org. See the volunteer registration form for more details.

Take Action: Urge JBC to Fund MED with Marijuana Tax Revenue to Prevent Fee Increases on Businesses

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Colorado Leads is urging members of the Colorado cannabis industry to take action this week to help prevent additional marijuana licensing fee increases in Colorado.

Please take a minute to contact the members of the state Joint Budget Committee (JBC) and urge them to approve the Department of Revenue’s request for marijuana tax revenue to cover the current deficit in the MED’s budget. Without these funds, the MED may need to raise fees on marijuana businesses.

See below for more information and instructions on how you can help.

Read more

New Member Spotlight: Keef Brands

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We are excited to welcome Keef Brands as the latest member of Colorado Leads!

Keef Brands was founded in Colorado in 2010. Since then, it has grown from a small Colorado cannabis-infused beverage company to a much-awarded brand, developing, manufacturing, and distributing cannabis and CBD-infused products across North America. Keef’s flagship manufacturing facility is based in Denver, and its products, which include multiple lines of popular beverage options, as well CO2-extracted oil for vape cartridges, are currently produced in more than 10 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

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: Cheeba Chews

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We are excited to welcome Cheeba Chews as the latest member of Colorado Leads!

Cheeba Chews is a Denver-based manufacturer of reliable, high-quality cannabis-infused edibles. Since its founding in 2009, the company has been committed to providing consumers with an industry leading, consistently potent, and discreet cannabis infused edible solution. Cheeba Chews’ large variety of products are thoughtfully created and carefully infused, utilizing independent lab testing, to serve a wide range of patients, from those looking for CBD for non-psychoactive relief, to those who require high concentrations of THC.

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: 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.