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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
News
Colorado marijuana sales hit $1 billion in first eight months of 2017
/in Economy, Sales /by AdminColorado’s legal marijuana industry generated a record $1 billion in sales during the first eight months of 2017, producing more than $160 million in taxes and fees for critical Colorado services.
With more than $1.02 billion in collective medical and recreational sales through August, sales are up 21 percent from the same period last year, according to The Cannabist, the marijuana news portal of The Denver Post, which analyzed state tax data released last week.
This equates to more than $162 million in taxes and fees for the state, which has received more than half a billion dollars in tax revenue since the first marijuana retail store opened its doors three-and-a-half-years ago.
Read more
November Events
/in Events /by AdminICYMI: Colorado Leads in the News….
/in Events, Politics, Uncategorized /by AdminPot 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
Progress: Big and Small
/in Politics, Uncategorized /by AdminLongmont 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.
LEADership
/in Charity, Events /by AdminColorado’s Native Roots jumped into the national fundraising effort aimed at helping the victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, contributing supplies and donating $15,750. Calling Sept. 15th “5 percent Donation Day,” the company earmarked the percentage of revenue from all 19 of its retail locations across Colorado for hurricane relief. Read more in The Denver Post.
Home Sweet Home
/in Economy /by AdminLegalization of marijuana does not negatively impact home values, and in some cases, positively impacts home values, according to first-of-its-kind study of Denver by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Georgia and California State University. If you don’t want to read the whole study, here are your Top Five Takeaways:
Words of the Week: Legitimate and Legal
/in Politics /by Admin“(The cannabis industry) donates to all four caucuses, which is kind of what you expect in this world from a legitimate, legal industry that is arguably the most heavily regulated and heavily taxed in the entire state,” he said. “They are looking to make sure that they have a voice in the Capitol, and to find that they donate to Republicans and Democrats and senators and representative across the board and across the spectrum should not surprise anyone.” Senate President Kevin Grantham, a Cañon City Republican.
Read the full story
Colorado looks to marijuana tax as budget fix
/in Uncategorized /by AdminIn 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
/in Uncategorized /by AdminColorado’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
/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by AdminColorado’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.”