Colorado PTSD Legislation Awaiting Governor’s Signature

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The Colorado Legislature took an important step toward improving the state’s medical marijuana program last week by passing SB17-017, which would add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition. Twenty-four out of 29 states with medical marijuana programs allow patients with PTSD to qualify, but Colorado still does not.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has not yet indicated if he’s supportive. If you are a Colorado resident, please call him now at (303) 866-2471, and politely ask him to make this important treatment option…

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Colorado Lawmakers Pass Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana for PTSD

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Approximately 8 million adults suffer from PTSD, including many military veterans. (WikiMedia Commons/USMC)

TJ Baker | April 25, 2017

DENVER, CO — Lawmakers in the Colorado legislature have passed a measure to add post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana in the state.

The measure, Senate Bill 17, will now be sent to the desk of Gov. John Hickenlooper for final approval.  It was approved

Previous attempts to add PTSD to the conditions that qualify a…

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Colorado cannabis cultivation curbs may benefit legal MJ firms

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Colorado lawmakers have passed two measures they believe will curb illicit marijuana cultivation and potentially send more consumers to legal cannabis retailers.

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday prohibiting people in co-ops from growing recreational cannabis for others, the Associated Press reported. The House already had passed the legislation.

The bill now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper. The governor supports the measure, according to the news service, but it’s unclear…

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Yuma County sheriff struggles with massive land area, too few deputies

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WRAY — Yuma County sheriff’s Sgt. James Thomson was on his way to deliver an eviction notice when a long-running family feud erupted in shooting about 40 miles from where he was driving on a rural farm road.

Thomson made a dash across the county, the speedometer in his pickup spiking at more than 110 miles per hour.

By the time he arrived, all but one of the six patrol members of the sheriff’s office were on the scene, where one suspect allegedly fired an AK-47 several times into…

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Study: Marijuana Use Stable In Colorado Post-Legalization

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Paul Armentano | March 2, 2017

DENVER, CO — The percentage of Coloradoans who report using cannabis has remained relatively unchanged following the regulation of the adult use market, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Researchers at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reviewed statewide marijuana use data from January 1, 2014.

They reported:

“[M]arijuana use, both among adults and among youth, does not appear to be…

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Colorado GOP Senate Leader Downplays Federal Interference Fears

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Colorado Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg

In response to statements made by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week, Colorado Senate President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg said that he does not think the federal government will crack down the legal marijuana market in states where it is legal for adult consumption.

Denver Post reports:

“I’m not sure I’d put too much thought or too much credit into what he was saying,” Sonnenberg told reporters Monday morning. “This president has been all about federalism and giving the states more…

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CO Dept. of Revenue Reports $1.3 Billion From Marijuana Industry in 2016

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The Colorado Department of Revenue’s announcement that $1.3 billion in regulated marijuana sales took place in calendar year 2016, generating nearly $200 million in state tax revenue. These figures do not include millions of dollars in revenue generated by local taxes on marijuana.

The Cannabist reports:

To put the state’s third year of regulated recreational marijuana sales in perspective, Year One totaled $699.2 million (combined with medical sales) and Year Two jumped up to $996.2 million. The trend should continue in Year Four, but…

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Rural Colorado town to get state’s first marijuana drive-thru

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The tiny western Colorado town of Parachute is getting what is believed to be the state’s first marijuana retailer with a drive-thru window, a move that could attract on-the-go cannabis customers who don’t want to get out of their car.

Tumbleweed Express, as the planned drive-thru will be known, received a business license last year but didn’t open. The Parachute Board of Trustees approved Tumbleweed’s annual license renewal Thursday, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported.


Spring 2017 MJBizConThe drive-thru is expected to open for business in…

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NORML Forms Multi-State Workplace Drug Testing Coalition

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NORML | February 14, 2017

DENVER, CO — The fact that 190 million Americans now live in states where marijuana has been legalized to some degree is raising a number of questions and issues about how to integrate the American workforce and marijuana consumers rights in regards to drug testing.

With medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and recreational marijuana for adult use in 8 states and Washington DC, millions of responsible and otherwise law-abiding adults remain at risk of being excluded from the…

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Marijuana Use Rates Have Not Changed in Colorado Post-Legalization

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Thousands of signatures for the Colorado Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which later become known as Amendment 64, outside of the state capitol in February, 2012.

Paul Armentano | February 9, 2017

DENVER, CO — The percentage of Colorado adults and teens who report using cannabis regularly has remained virtually unchanged in the years following its legalization, according to a new report released by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

The report, entitled…

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Colorado issues safety guidelines for marijuana businesses

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Cannabis businesses in Colorado now have guidance on how to create and maintain a safe workplace.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued an 80-page report intended to help marijuana businesses identify health and safety hazards that could exist in their workplaces and “provide a starting point for the assessment and evaluation of occupational health hazards.”


Spring 2017 MJBizConAssembled by the Colorado Marijuana Occupational Health and Safety Work Group, the guide focuses on the safety of jobs ranging from extraction…

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Annual Colorado Government Report on Marijuana-related Health Concerns Highlights Several ‘Encouraging Trends’

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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment highlighted several “encouraging trends” in its latest annual report on marijuana-related health concerns.

According to the report:

•    “For adults and adolescents, past-month marijuana use has not changed since legalization either in terms of the number of people using or the frequency of use among users.”

•    “Based on the most comprehensive data available, past-month marijuana use among Colorado adolescents is nearly identical to the national…

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Where Does Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Come Down on Marijuana?

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Neil Gorsuch hasn’t made any known public pronouncements about marijuana policy, and despite his tenure on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, he hasn’t ruled in any cases that directly take up the issue.

But he has ruled on some marijuana cases, and he didn’t go out of his way to support freeing the weed in them. And there’s at least one marijuana-related case he’s ruled on that demonstrates a disquieting deference to law enforcement.

In Feinberg et al. v. IRS, Gorsuch ruled against a Colorado dispensary that sought…

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Colorado DHS Wants $6M from Pot Tax to Fund Public Health Approach to Drug Use and Mental Health

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Drug Policy Alliance | January 19, 2017

DENVER, CO — The Department of Human Services (DHS) in conjunction with the Governor’s Office, at the request and guidance of Drug Policy Alliance and other advocates such as the Equitas Foundation, submitted a request yesterday to the Colorado General Assembly Joint Budget Committee (JBC) to allocate over $6 million annually from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund for grant-based initiatives that will create meaningful alternatives to criminal justice involvement for…

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In Legal States, Marijuana Regulators Target Home Cultivation

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Two cannabis plants being grown for personal use. (Wikimedia Commons)

Kevin Mahmalji | January 18, 2017

Since its founding, NORML has advocated that statewide legalization efforts – whether through a ballot initiative or using the legislative process – should ideally include provisions that permit and protect the act of home cultivation by marijuana consumers. This advocacy has resulted in more than 16 states now allowing home cultivation, including in six of the eight voter-initiated measures passed in…

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Colorado: Marijuana Sales Surpass $1 Billion in 2016

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NORML | January 12, 2017

DENVER, CO — Retail sales of marijuana in Colorado totaled well over $1 billion in the first ten months of 2016 and are estimated to reach $1.3 billion by year’s end, according to data provided by the state’s Department of Revenue.

The sales totals are an increase over last year, when retailers sold $996,184,788 in marijuana-related products.

Cannabis sales in 2016 have yielded an estimated $151 million in tax revenue to date, $40 million of which will be directed…

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Beer Sales Fall In States with Legal Retail Marijuana Markets

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NORML | December 22, 2016

NEW YORK, NY — Beer sales are falling in states that permit the retail sale of marijuana to adult consumers, according to an analysis performed by the New York-based research firm Cowen & Company.

Their analysis reports that beer sales by several of the larger domestic producers have “collectively underperformed” the past two years in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

They added, “With all three of these states now having fully implemented a [marijuana] retail…

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Teen Marijuana Use Down in Colorado and Washington

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Marijuana Policy Project | December 21, 2016

DENVER, CO — The federal government quietly published new national survey data this week that shows rates of teen marijuana use in Colorado and Washington — the first two states to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use — decreased more than the national average in 2014-2015. Fewer teens in the two states are reportedly using marijuana than in 2012-2013, just prior to the commencement of legal adult marijuana sales.    

The Substance…

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Colorado Sees More Than $1 Billion in Marijuana Sales in 2016

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Legal marijuana businesses in Colorado made more than a billion dollars in sales during the first 10 months of 2016, exceeding sales numbers from last year.picstateflag_1

The Cannabist reports:

Recreational and medical cannabis shops in America’s first 420-legal state have sold nearly $1.1 billion of marijuana and related products in 2016, according to the new October data from the state’s Department of Revenue.

When 2015’s year-end marijuana tax data was finally released in February, Cannabist calculations showed $996,184,788 in sales at Colorado…

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In Legal Marijuana States, Consumers Are Turning to Buds Over Beer

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Phillip Smith | December 16, 2016

A new industry study says access to legal marijuana is having a negative impact on beer sales. That’s bad news for the brewing industry, but good news from a public health perspective.

According to the industry site Brewbound, the research firm Cowen & Company analyzed the beer industries in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — three states that have recreational pot shops — and found that their beer markets have “collectively underperformed” in the past two years.

The…

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Colorado cannabis sales in 2016 already exceed $1 billion

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In a significant milestone for the cannabis industry, Colorado’s combined recreational and medical marijuana sales hit $1.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2016.

That total eclipsed Colorado’s combined cannabis sales in 2015 of just over $996 million, according to The Cannabist. Colorado is now the first state with medical and recreational program to officially top the $1 billion mark in a calendar year, underscoring the growth in the marijuana industry.


Marijuana Business License DirectoryAt the current pace, marijuana sales in Colorado could hit more than $1.3 billion…

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Colorado hemp industry moves ahead after seed certification

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Colorado’s hemp industry took a major step forward this week when its Department of Agriculture announced that three industrial hemp seed varieties passed a statewide trial that confirmed the resulting plants contain THC levels under 0.3%.

Being under the 0.3% threshold is important because plants with higher THC levels cannot be certified as hemp under state laws, and are instead considered marijuana and can’t be used. The validation means that these seed varieties are now eligible to be cultivated as “CDA Approved Certified Seed”…

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Regulation Works: Marijuana Retailers Not Selling To Youth, Study Finds

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cannabis-shopping-medical-patient_1866

Paul Armentano | November 10, 2016

GOLDEN, CO — Licensed marijuana retailers are complying with regulations that forbid businesses from selling to minors, according to data published in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs.

A team of investigators from California, Colorado, and New Mexico assessed whether licensed retail cannabis facilities would sell to pseudo-underage buyers who failed to show proof of age.

Authors reported:

“Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals…

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Report: Tax Revenue From Retail Marijuana Sales Exceeds Expectations

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NORML | October 20, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC — Tax revenue collection from retail marijuana sales in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington is exceeding initial projections, according to a report published by the Drug Policy Alliance.

The DPA study finds that marijuana-related tax revenue in Colorado totaled $129 million over the 12-month period ending May 31, 2016 – well exceeding initial estimates of $70 million per year. In Washington, tax revenue totaled $220 million for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2016….

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So Far, So Good: What We Know About Marijuana Legalization in Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington D.C.

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3D Cannabis retail marijuana packaging

Drug Policy Alliance | October 13, 2016

As Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada prepare to vote on marijuana legalization next month, all eyes are on the initial outcomes of those states that have already legalized marijuana. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first two U.S. states – and the first two jurisdictions in the world – to approve ending marijuana prohibition and legally regulating marijuana production, distribution and sales. In the 2014 election, Alaska and Oregon followed…

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Denver marijuana packaging firm files for bankruptcy

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High Supply, a Denver producer of child-resistant containers for marijuana products, has filed for bankruptcy protection, claiming the company’s “severe financial stress” was caused by “theft and corporate espionage by former employees.”

High Supply CEO Paul Lufkin is also suing a former co-owner and several formal employees, asserting they tried to launch another marijuana packaging firm in violation of a non-compete agreement, according to BusinessDen.com.


License Directory SidebarThe case is the latest example of what is a growing trend: cannabis…

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Certified seeds and CBD help U.S. hemp industry take root

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8812369 - field of hemp. industrial kind of this plant is not a drug but a resource. it contains hardly any thc

By Omar Sacirbey

America’s fledgling hemp industry recently got its latest boost when the Colorado Department of Agriculture created six varieties of certified domestic hemp seeds that U.S. farmers can buy to start their own crops.

Hemp cultivation also is benefiting from rising demand for CBD products and new applications for hemp.

The plant is used for medicines as well as products ranging from clothing to building materials.

Colorado’s seed program, unveiled last month, comes as hemp cultivation has been hindered by a dearth of seeds and…

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Developer may boost stake in Colorado marijuana chain

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A longtime Vail developer with years of experience in the marijuana trade is poised to strengthen his ownership stake in Native Roots, one of Colorado’s largest cannabis retail chains.

Businessman Peter Knobel will boost his stake in Native Roots from 50% to 67%, pending state approval of the deal, according to the Aspen Times. The deal was recently approved by local officials in Aspen.

Native Roots operates 17 medical and recreational storefronts in Colorado, including one in Aspen that does business as RJJ Aspen.


License Directory SidebarIf the deal is approved…

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Report: Marijuana Legalization Has Had “Minimal” Adverse Impact On Health

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Report: Marijuana Legalization Has Had “Minimal” Adverse Impact On Health

WASHINGTON, DC — The enactment of laws regulating the adult use, production, and retail sale of cannabis in four states has had negligible, if any, adverse impact on overall health and safety, according to an analysis commissioned by the CATO Institute – a Washington, DC think-tank.

Researchers from Harvard University and Western Carolina University assessed the impact of marijuana legalization laws in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington on a variety of health and safety outcomes, including drug use, suicide rates, substance abuse…

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Colorado Will Use Marijuana Taxes to Fund Bully Prevention Grants

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Colorado Will Use Marijuana Taxes to Fund Bully Prevention Grants

Opponents to marijuana legalization often tout the archaic question, “what about the children?”, despite numerous studies that have shown that marijuana reform generally reduces teen use.

Well, Colorado has the answer.  Ever since the state began taxing retail cannabis sales, schools in the state have benefited, with $40 million already being used to fund new school construction.

Now, state officials are taking it one step further: Using parts of the estimated $66 million in surplus — yes, that’s right, surplus — marijuana tax…

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New CO Edibles Rules: Major Cost for Producers, ‘Blip on the Radar’ for Others

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THC Labeling Chocolate_Image2 LR

By John Schroyer

New labeling rules that take effect Oct. 1 for marijuana edibles produced in Colorado have been a huge expense for many infused products manufacturers – and may cause headaches for retailers, too.

Edibles companies have spent upwards of six figures to retool manufacturing equipment, retrain employees and pay for new packaging. 

Retailers, meanwhile, could be left with unsold inventory that doesn’t meet the new standards, which apply to both recreational and medical products.

Any unsold inventory could prove a boon for…

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Cannabis Pod Company Execs Face Fraud Charges

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado has charged two men who ran a Denver-area company that transformed shipping containers into growing pods for food and cannabis with securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.

William Sears, 50, and Scott Dittman, 47, were also barred from securities trading,  the Denver Business Journal reported. Their company is named FusionPharm Inc.

MJBizCrashCourseFederal authorities allege that Sears and Dittman hid their stock ownership in the business from securities regulators. Sears was also charged with filing a false…

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Poll Finds Most Coloradans Upbeat About Legal Marijuana, Few Would Support Repeal

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Poll Finds Most Coloradans Upbeat About Legal Marijuana, Few Would Support Repeal

Three out of five Colorado voters say regulating and taxing marijuana has been good for the economy, and one out of four say they have a friend, relative, or acquaintance who works for or with a regulated marijuana business

DENVER, CO — A new poll finds Colorado voters are still upbeat about their decision to regulate and tax marijuana for adult use, and few would support repealing Amendment 64, the legalization initiative approved in November 2012.

The results of the statewide survey, which was conducted earlier this month by Public Policy…

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Cannabis Infrastructure Firm Raises $4M for Greenhouse Facility

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A Denver-based cannabis infrastructure and logistics firm has raised $4 million of a targeted $7 million to build its second greenhouse as well as an extraction facility and warehouse in southern Colorado, in Pueblo County.

GrowCo already operates one greenhouse at its 160-acre site in Pueblo County. Earlier this month it applied for a new round of debt security funding in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to BusinessDen.com. The first greenhouse site also has an extraction facility and warehouse.

CEO Wayne…

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Prominent Travel Writer: ‘Get Ready’ for Age of MJ Tourism

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One of the most well-known travel writers in the world, Arthur Frommer, predicted recently that cannabis tourism is going to become big business after the November election, when up to five more states could legalize recreational use.

If accurate, marijuana tourism would present additional opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the legalization of marijuana.

“The prospects seem strong that marijuana is now about to be added to beer and wine as a permissible product to order,” Frommer wrote in a column last week, the…

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Denver MJ Social Use Initiative Makes Ballot

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A campaign to allow businesses such as bars to permit public cannabis use on their property has officially made the November ballot in Colorado’s capital city.

The initiative, dubbed the Neighborhood-Supported Cannabis Consumption Pilot Program, has the support so far of at least 50 businesses in the city, the Denver Post reported.

If approved by voters, it would allow businesses to establish marijuana consumption areas on their premises, as long as the companies meet certain criteria, such as obtaining support from a “neighborhood…

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Marijuana Lounge Initiative Fails to Make Denver Ballot

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A movement to legalize cannabis clubs in Denver has failed to make the November ballot, but a second ballot initiative to allow marijuana use in some bars and other businesses could still be placed before voters.

The Denver chapter of NORML failed to make the ballot with its pro-marijuana lounge initiative, having turned in just 2,987 valid signatures when the requirement was 4,726, the Denver Post reported. The organization submitted more than 7,500 signatures.

MJBizCrashCourseThe second measure, dubbed the Neighborhood-Supported Cannabis Consumption…

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Landing a Bank Account: Q&A With Sundie Seefried of Partners Colorado Credit Union

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Sundie Seefried Cropped

By Omar Sacirbey

Sundie Seefried was ready to retire as CEO of a Colorado credit union when some lawyer friends asked why she couldn’t bank their marijuana business clients.

Good question, she thought. Seefried met with bankers, lawyers and cannabis business owners. What she learned scared her out of retiring.

Bankers, in short, were telling MJ companies to break the law, Seefried said, inspiring her to postpone retirement and work with cannabis businesses.

Seefried, CEO of Partner Colorado Credit Union, launched her…

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License Plate from a Marijuana State? That’s No Reason to Stop and Search, Fed Court Says

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License Plate from a Marijuana State? That’s No Reason to Stop and Search, Fed Court Says

DENVER, CO — Drivers from pot-friendly West Coast states have long complained of “license plate profiling,” claiming state troopers more interested in drug interdiction than traffic safety perch like vultures along the nation’s east-west interstate highways pull them over on pretextual traffic stops—going 71 in a 70 mph zone, failing to wait two full seconds after signaling before making a lane change, weaving within a lane—because their plates make them suspected marijuana traffickers.

Since Colorado blossomed as a medical…

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Week in Review: Big Legal Victory, Nervous Credit Union & Unrequited Love in MA

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By Omar Sacirbey and John Schroyer

The marijuana industry scores a big legal victory, a credit union in Alaska gets cold feet, and a Massachusetts city nixes a controversial business deal with a medical cannabis dispensary.

Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the marijuana industry over the past week.

A Big Win … For Now

A federal appeals court in San Francisco this week sided with the legal marijuana industry against the U.S. Department of Justice, ruling the federal government couldn’t spend money to prosecute…

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Lawyers Warned in Select States About Working With Medical Cannabis Firms

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41961551 - need a lawyer handwritten on blackboard

By Omar Sacirbey

Professional ethics boards in a few states – most recently New Mexico and Ohio – have warned local attorneys that helping medical marijuana businesses can be a violation of professional rules of conduct.

The non-binding opinions could make it tougher for MMJ businesses in those states to get legal representation.

The recent opinions caution lawyers that assisting a cannabis business can be tantamount to helping a client break federal law, given marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

While differing…

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Pioneering Denver MJ Business Sold to Willie’s Reserve Processor

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The owners of a pioneering recreational and medical cannabis business, Denver Relief, announced the sale today of their cultivation and infused products facilities to CMH Brands, a Colorado company tapped by Willie’s Reserve to process its marijuana products.

The sale comes two weeks after Denver Relief, founded in 2009, sold its retail store to Colorado-based Terrapin Care Station, another venerable retailer which already has two recreational storefronts in Aurora and a combined recreational-medical operation in Boulder.

Denver Relief…

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One of Denver’s Oldest Cannabis Shops Sold

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The founders of one of Denver’s oldest cannabis retailers have sold their business to a growing Boulder cannabis chain.

Denver Relief, which launched in 2009 as a medical marijuana dispensary before transitioning to the recreational market as well, has been sold to Terrapin Care Station for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release issued by the companies.

Denver Relief founders Ean Seeb and Kayvan Khalatbari said they plan to continue working in the cannabis industry via their consulting firm, Denver Relief Consulting, and with…

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Head of Prominent MJ Industry Group Leaves

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Mike Elliott, for years a staple of cannabis business advocacy in Colorado, has left the Marijuana Industry Group (MIG), a state trade organization he helped develop into a true political force.

Elliott, the former executive director of MIG, has not yet commented on why he left the organization, according to the Denver Post.

But MIG confirmed that Elliott is no longer with the advocacy group. It did not explain the circumstances of his departure, saying it does not discuss personnel issues.

Bruce Nassau, the CEO of Tru Cannabis and incoming…

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Colorado Suspends Doctors for MJ Violations

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States with medical marijuana programs are increasingly clamping down on doctors accused of writing medical marijuana recommendations for people who don’t need them.

The implications are significant for medical marijuana businesses, since physicians write recommendations for their patients, and such violations could invite greater regulatory scrutiny on the industry.

The latest state to take action is Colorado, where regulators suspended the licenses of four doctors for recommending medical marijuana and “authorizing high plant counts for…

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Medical Cannabis Research Growing But Hurdles Remain

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Scientific Research - Stock Image

By Omar Sacirbey

Scientific researchers are increasingly interested in studying the medicinal properties of cannabis, and breakthroughs have been achieved that could lead to additional uses for medical marijuana.

The moves could bolster the MMJ industry and boost sales. But marijuana’s status as a federally prohibited Schedule 1 drug remains a serious obstacle to research.

That status undermines the medical community’s acceptance of marijuana, which is crucial for the MMJ industry to thrive. Dispensaries depend on doctors to write…

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New IRS Audits in Colorado Worry Cannabis Companies

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IRS logo wikimedia

By John Schroyer

The Internal Revenue Service has begun probing the large cash transactions of dozens of Colorado marijuana companies, sparking uncertainty and unease among cannabis entrepreneurs.

The audits – focusing on Form 8300 – have raised the specter of money laundering charges. But legal experts are divided over whether such fears are overblown.

“It’s not necessarily something that a marijuana business has to freak out about. All cash-intensive industries are subject to Form 8300 filing requirements,” Colorado attorney Rachel…

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Colorado Marijuana Potency Cap Backers Cancel Campaign

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Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to cap cannabis product potency at 16% THC abruptly halted their campaign on Friday, saying they didn’t have the financial resources to beat the marijuana industry.

“We simply couldn’t go toe-to-toe with the marijuana moguls,” Ali Pruitt, one of the two primary proponents of Amendment 139, said in a press release. “The marijuana industry built a wall of money between us and the November ballot that we simply couldn’t break through.”

Colorado’s cannabis industry recently formed a…

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Week in Review: MMJ Stare Down, Miracle Wager in Cannabis & Colorado’s Industry Unites

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By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Two medical marijuana campaigns slug it out in Arkansas, Scotts Miracle-Gro wagers big on a different kind of grass, and Colorado cannabis business leaders unite to fight a potency cap.

Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the marijuana industry over the past week.

MAD in Arkansas?

Come November, Arkansas voters may confront two competing – and vastly different – ballot measures to legalize medical cannabis. Both could fail as a result, thanks to a Cold War doctrine: mutually assured…

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Dueling Denver MJ Ballot Measures Possible for November

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Two competing initiatives may be on the November ballot in Denver, one to legalize private cannabis clubs and another to permit practically any business to set up a public marijuana “consumption area.”

The initiatives would have different impacts on the cannabis industry. The first would cede the business opportunities to potential club owners, while the second would be aimed at making cannabis use more widespread and socially acceptable.

The Denver NORML chapter supports the club initiative. The Marijuana Policy Project and the cannabis…

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