News

Interesting Listening

Colorado Public Radio talks about the culture shift that has put marijuana up with immigration and the economy as a top issue in the midterms.

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LEADership

Pueblo and Denver are following through on using their marijuana taxes for the public good.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, a legal cannabis opponent turned supporter, has signed into a law a proposal to increase marijuana taxes from 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent to help fund more affordable housing.

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In Pueblo, the city is using cannabis tax revenue to fund scholarships. 

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Members in the News

Meet Nancy Whiteman, a Colorado-based former insurance executive who created the state’s most successful edible marijuana business.  Whiteman is co-founder and CEO of Wana Brands.

How this 60-year-old MBA turned edible gummies into a business bringing in millions»


Listen to Jon Taffer talk to co-founder and CEO of retail cannabis chain Medicine Man Andy Williams. Find out how this cannabis pioneer took $150,000 and turned it into multi-million-dollar cannabis empire.

THE MEDICINE MAN – ANDY WILLIAMS + EL K’RAJO BAR RESCUE PUERTO RICO RECAP

 

Let Cannabis Companies Operate Like Other Legitimate Businesses

 

That was the clear message delivered from Ron Kammerzell, who oversaw the Marijuana Enforcement Division at the Colorado Department of Revenue, and Nate Bruggeman, an assistant attorney general at the Colorado Department of Law’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. 

“One specific area that warrants serious consideration is the prohibition on publicly traded companies from holding marijuana business licenses or investing in Colorado marijuana companies,” they wrote in The Denver Post. Not only does the prohibition not enhance public safety, they said, it “is depriving Colorado businesses of access to needed investment capital.”

Kammerzell and Bruggeman also suggested that Colorado update, simplify and streamline it’s marijuana laws.  

Denver Post Article »

The Future of Cannabis

One of the criticisms of the legal marijuana industry has been about the amount of energy required to power grow houses. But most agree that as cannabis becomes more mainstream, much of the growth will go back to nature, like the sustainable, organic operation outdoor cannabis farm, Pot Zero, in Eagle County.

Colorado Cannabis Tours is taking interested visitors up to farm throughout September so more people can learn how the owners, Rob and Linda Trotter, use their land and natural resources for a carbon free grow.

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Headlines

Denver approves vaping lounge

Despite complaints about too many rules, a second business has been able to win a social consumption license.

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Consumer friendly

Housing prices might be out of control, but a new study from Wikileaf says marijuana is cheaper in Denver than most markets.

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Pesticide tests costly for growers

Falling prices and new testing putting a financial squeeze on some growers.

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Palmer Lake to reconsider legal cannabis

Palmer Lake residents will vote for a third time in November on whether to allow adult use marijuana.

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Quotable

“I am deeply concerned by this intentional effort to mislead the American people. At a time when we should be investing in objective and peer-reviewed scientific research on marijuana and the effects of legalization, the White House is instead using taxpayer money to spread a politically-driven narrative.”

“The only way to ‘turn the tide’ on any issue with the public is to be a credible voice. By cherry-picking data to support pre-ordained and misinformed conclusions on marijuana, the Trump administration has further eroded any credibility it has on this issue.”

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet in a letter to the White House

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Upcoming Events

Sept. 21, 22 and 28

Sustainable farm harvest tour at Pot Zero, Colorado’s most sustainable cannabis farm.

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Body of research quelling fears about legal cannabis continues to grow

As the number of states and countries legalizing marijuana grows, so too does the research into the potential effects on society. The common theme: legal cannabis isn’t contributing to society’s ills. It may even be helping.

One of the biggest concerns – and misconceptions – has been about the dangers of driving under the influence and what opponents contended was a rise in DUIs because of legal adult cannabis use. But a first-ever study from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice shows the majority of Coloradans suspected of driving under the influence in 2016 had been drinking, but only a small fraction had used marijuana. 

Colorado Politics Story »

Westword Story »

Colorado.gov Report »

Another study set to be published in October found that workplace deaths dropped in states that had legalized cannabis. The researchers analyzed federal Department of Labor statistics, finding that the numbers backed the theory that if people use marijuana as an alternative to alcohol or painkillers, the risk of impairment on the job could be lower.

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