News

Colorado Leads Welcomes Richard Batenburg, Jr. to the Board of Directors

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Richard M. Batenburg, Jr., CEO, Clear Cannabis Inc.We are pleased to welcome Richard Batenburg, Jr. to the Colorado Leads Board of Directors!

Richard is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Clear Cannabis Inc. Additionally, he holds managing positions in BATMANN Consulting, Inc., an operational and strategic consulting company to cannabis- and non-cannabis-related businesses, where he has served as both CEO and President since its founding in March 1997; Redwood Investment Partners LLC, d/b/a Bonsai Cultivation, a cannabis cultivation company, where he has served as the chairman since January 2017; and BB Talent, LLC, a talent management, and production company, where he has been the managing member since its founding in February 2015.

Richard has over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and business owner/operator and excels at “end-to-end” processes to help frontline employees deliver products and services to customers. He is author of the book “Change Is Great… Be First!” published by Advantage Media Group in 2016, and he is the founder of many startups in Software, Consumer Goods, and Consulting and Finance in dozens of industries, focusing the past seven years in Cannabis and Hemp. Read more

New Member Spotlight: Clear Cannabis Inc.

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We are thrilled to welcome Clear Cannabis Inc. to Colorado Leads!

Clear Cannabis Inc. is one of the original cannabis brands founded in 2013 by a team of scientists who introduced molecular distillation to the legal cannabis market and in the process reinvented the cannabis vape category. As a national cannabis brand and licensor of The Clear™ family of brands, including TWAX, ENDO, and Dripcees, products are currently available in 10 cannabis markets and growing throughout the U.S. The company is focused on responsible manufacturing, proprietary formulations, securing widespread distribution, and expanding product lines.

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: PAX

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We are thrilled to welcome PAX to Colorado to Colorado Leads!

PAX is a leading global cannabis brand on a mission to enhance people’s lives through exceptional cannabis experiences. PAX’s curated set of all natural, full-flavor cannabis products and award-winning devices make enjoying cannabis simple and safe. For more than a decade, PAX has created next-generation devices that deliver enduring quality through innovations in design and technology and remain trusted by millions of consumers nationwide. The PAX brand represents a vision for creating sustainable well-being and building opportunity through cannabis.

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.

Colorado Leads Welcomes New Board Member Joe Hodas

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We are pleased to welcome Joe Hodas to the Colorado Leads Board of Directors!

Joe serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Wana Brands, where he is responsible for generating revenue by creating innovative and refined marketing campaigns for the organization while helping to grow Wana’s brand, market share and customer loyalty. Since joining Wana in 2020, Hodas has been on the team that launched new innovative lines–including Quick, Optimals and Live Rosin Gummies–while expanding Wana’s North American footprint to become a top international cannabis brand. An early professional marketer in the cannabis industry, Hodas drove the marketing strategy for Dixie Elixirs as its first CMO, helping build it into one of the most recognized national marijuana brands. Read more

Colorado Leads-backed “No on 119” Campaign Receives AAPC Campaign Excellence Award

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We are excited to share that Cannabis Community for Fairness and Safety, our campaign that defeated Colorado Proposition 119, received the American Association of Political Consultants’ Campaign Excellence Award for Ballot Measure Campaign of the Year (Statewide).

From the AAPC:

“This next campaign faced numerous challenges in their efforts to defeat a proposed 5% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana in Colorado. To start, they were outspent…24-1… And despite heavy opposition from Colorado public officials, they were able to identify key messages and distribute them to voters throughout the state. Through a grassroots effort, they defeated the measure by 9 points, surprising the politicians, the pundits and the major foundations funding the opposing campaign.”

Read Colorado Leads’ press release after the jump.

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Meet Our Newest Board Member: Stephen Goldman of Kaycha Labs

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Colorado Leads is pleased to welcome Stephen Goldman to the Colorado Leads Board of Directors!

As Chief Science Officer and Lab Director of Kaycha Labs in Colorado, Stephen is primarily focused on research and development, nationwide standardizations and new test development. Specifically, he’s been leading Kaycha’s efforts to develop cannabis vapor testing for metal contamination. Though testing is now required by state regulators, there is no standardized method for testing cannabis emissions. Goldman and Kaycha, however, appear to have successfully developed one, which you can read about here.

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WATCH: Armanino Webinar with Colorado Leads President Chuck Smith

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Colorado Leads President Chuck Smith recently joined Leads member Armanino and one of the company’s Denver-based partners, Chris Becze, for a webinar titled, “Evolution of the Budding Cannabis Industry.”

The approximately 60-minute webinar takes a deep dive into the cannabis industry’s historical evolution in Colorado, helping viewers to understand the policies and legislation that surround the industry. It also addresses what’s next for the cannabis industry. Watch the full webinar below.

New Member Spotlight: Kaycha Labs

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We are thrilled to welcome Kaycha Labs Colorado to Colorado Leads!

Kaycha Labs is the largest network of full-service, ISO-accredited cannabis testing laboratories in the U.S. Its state-of-the-art testing equipment utilizes more than 500 automated methods and procedures to accurately, consistently and quickly deliver regulatory testing and testing analysis for quality control, traceability, shelf-life, batch creation and refinement of cannabis products. Additionally, Kaycha’s research lab assesses the efficacy of CBD products for therapeutic outcomes and provides this data to physicians, patients, and researchers. Kaycha is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it has Gold Standard labs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Tennessee, all of which meet the guidelines and requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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: Harmony Extracts

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We are proud to welcome Harmony Extracts as the latest member of Colorado Leads.

Founded in 2015, Harmony Extracts hit the ground running with a singular goal: To create cannabis concentrates of the highest quality with uniquely rich terpene profiles.  In a young industry, the Harmony team has more than 100 years of combined experience in cannabis development using state-of-the-art medical grade equipment, along with proprietary solvent blends to transform our plants into high-end BHO products that have earned the company an incomparable reputation. Just like nature’s little hummingbird, Harmony works to extract the best of what nature has to offer and is fiercely dedicated to the Harmony standard of purity, quality, and consistency.

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.

Colorado Leads Guest Column in The Colorado Sun

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The Colorado Sun published a guest column by Colorado Leads Board President Chuck Smith regarding the strong public support for legal medical cannabis in Colorado and the success of the state’s efforts to regulate it.

In the nine years since Colorado became the first state in the country to legalize adult-use marijuana, three things have become clear: the vast majority of Coloradans support legalization and consider cannabis as medicine (Opinion: After 20 years, it’s clear that marijuana is not ‘medicine’, Colorado Sun, Jan. 4).

They also believe kids should not have access to it unless it’s for medical treatment.

Nowhere is this more evident than in two Colorado laws that have just gone into effect. One closes a loophole by restricting young people with medical cards from accessing unlimited marijuana products, a practice known as “looping.” The other expands the right of students with “valid medical marijuana recommendation(s)” to access their medication at school.

Both laws are representative of the consistent collaboration among elected officials, regulators, and public-health experts and the cannabis industry, its customers, and patients. Over the last decade, the state has protected kids through responsible regulations, such as enhanced child-proof packaging, and strong education campaigns, while also recognizing that cannabis is critical medicine for post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, epileptic seizures, insomnia, and numerous other medical conditions.

The ability for multiple stakeholders and elected officials to fairly balance these complicated interests is the primary reason Colorado’s regulations are considered the strongest in the country and continue to be held up as a model for other states.

Read the rest of the article at The Colorado Sun.