Colorado House votes to bar cops from helping with federal marijuana crackdown

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DENVER — Colorado may prohibit law enforcement officers from assisting in a potential federal marijuana crackdown.

The state House voted 56-7 Wednesday to bar public employees from assisting federal agents in “arresting a Colorado citizen for committing an act that is a Colorado constitutional right.”

The Colorado bill doesn’t specifically mention marijuana. But sponsors say it is inspired by threats that federal authorities may try cracking down on the marijuana industry. Federal…

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Colorado lawmakers pass measure allowing counties to levy, collect marijuana taxes

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State lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would allow counties to levy and collect sales tax on recreational marijuana, a move inspired by a standoff between Adams County and three of its cities that could wind up in the state Supreme Court.

The measure, if signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, would allow counties to impose a pot tax in unincorporated areas without challenge but would have to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with cities and towns to tax weed there.

Adams…

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Dispute over marijuana taxing authority in Colorado may continue — despite state bill designed to defuse it

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A bill designed to resolve a high-stakes standoff over taxing authority between Colorado counties and cities when it comes to recreational marijuana sales is expected to pass out of the legislature Monday.

But the measure, if signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper next month, may not stop a protracted legal battle between Adams County and three of its cities from winding up at the state’s high court.

House Bill 1203, sponsored by Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, authorizes counties to…

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Colorado ends plans for pot clubs over Trump uncertainty

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By KRISTEN WYATT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado lawmakers on Thursday backed off plans to become the first U.S. state to regulate marijuana clubs, saying approval of Amsterdam-style pot clubs could invite a federal crackdown.

It was perhaps the starkest display yet of legal pot states’ uncertainty on how to regulate the drug under President Donald Trump. Alaska marijuana regulators recently delayed planned rules for on-site pot consumption at dispensaries.

Colorado’s measure, which would have…

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This is how Colorado could help pot shops under a federal marijuana crackdown

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Concerned about a potential crackdown from President Donald Trump’s administration, Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill that would allow recreational pot to be reclassified as medical marijuana so that it could not be seized by federal authorities.

The legislation would allow a one-time transfer prompted by a change in law or a shift in federal enforcement policy and drew no debate as it won final approval in the state Senate on a 28-7 vote Wednesday.

The effort comes after the White…

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New federal bill would reschedule marijuana as Schedule III

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The latest marijuana-centric bill before Congress would place cannabis as a Schedule III substance, a classification shared by Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and dronabinol.

Two Florida congressmen, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and Democratic Rep. Darren Soto, introduced legislation Thursday that would transfer marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act from its current standing as a Schedule I substance, the strictest of the classifications.

Read the complete story at The…

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Denver council advances 10 p.m. closing time for marijuana stores

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A measure that would extend Denver’s marijuana shop sales to midnight was pared back to 10 p.m. before a committee on Monday sent it to the full City Council.

The momentum of the revised proposal gave hope to marijuana industry representatives who have pushed for a later closing time to compete with neighboring cities. But the council also has heard push-back in recent weeks from some dispensary neighbors and others concerned about the change.

Denver allows its 216 medical and…

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Colorado governor suggests he may veto pot clubs bill without changes

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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday expressed reservations about two major pieces of marijuana legislation in Colorado — in one case citing concerns about the Donald Trump administration’s potential crackdown.

The Democrat pledged to veto a measure that won preliminary approval in the state Senate earlier in the day to allow pot clubs with local approval. To win his support, Hickenlooper said the measure needs to ban smoking marijuana indoors.

Under the bill, Senate Bill 184, local…

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Marijuana delivery to your home could be reality under new Colorado legislation

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Pizza, prescriptions, Prime … pot?

A bill introduced this week in the Colorado Senate would open the door for home-delivered recreational and medical marijuana in the state.

Senate Bill 192 would allow for medical marijuana dispensaries and recreational pot shops to apply for a license to deliver marijuana products to the private residences of Colorado adults or qualifying medical marijuana patients. The legislation is modeled after Oregon’s newly launched marijuana home delivery…

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Curious about Denver’s public pot use law? Here are some answers

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DENVER — Denver has started work on the nation’s first law allowing marijuana clubs and use in public places such as coffee shops or art galleries. But the details about what those pot clubs would look like are very much in the air.

Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the looming pot clubs headed to Denver:

WHEN WILL THE POT CLUBS OPEN?

Applications are available Friday, but the city has no deadline for issuing the licenses, which will cost $2,000 a year. An informal workgroup made…

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Denver starts work on allowing pot in yoga studios, coffee shops, art galleries and other public places

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By Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Denver is starting work Wednesday on becoming the first city in the nation to allow marijuana clubs and public pot use in places such as coffee shops, yoga studios and art galleries.

Voters narrowly approved the “social use” measure last November. But the ballot proposal didn’t spell out many rules for how the marijuana could be consumed, beyond saying that the drug can’t be smoked inside and that patrons must be over 21.

A…

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Hickenlooper floats pot sales tax hike to bridge school funding gap

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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday asked Colorado lawmakers for a 50 percent increase in sales taxes on recreational marijuana starting July 1 to send an additional $42 million to public schools.

The Democrat wants to increase the recreation sales tax on pot to 12 percent effective July 1, the same day the levy is scheduled to fall to 8 percent. The current tax rate is 10 percent.

The move is part of his plan to fill a $135 million shortfall in school funding caused by a constitutional…

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Denver officials detail next steps for implementing social marijuana measure

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Denver licensing and legal officials told City Council members Monday that they still had plenty of work to do to implement the first-of-its-kind marijuana social-use law approved by city voters last month.

“Our plan is to implement the will of the voters within the confines of the law,” said Ashley Kilroy, executive director of the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses. She’s also the longtime director of the Office of Marijuana Policy.

But figuring out the “confines of the…

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Federal Heights measure legalizing retail pot sales widens lead

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Friday brought more good news to the supporters of a Federal Heights retail marijuana ballot issue as a few hundred as yet untallied votes were finally processed by elections officials.

Ballot Question 2B, which would legalize sales of recreational marijuana in the suburb of 12,000, held a 1,702 to 1,655 lead at the end of the day. That 47-vote separation likely puts it out of the margin for an automatic recount.

The results released on election night had shown the measure going down in…

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Federal Heights recreational pot measure gets new life

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A Federal Heights retail marijuana ballot measure that appeared to be a lost cause a day after the election took on new life Thursday after additional unprocessed ballots in Adams County were tabulated.

The vote count for Ballot Question 2B, which would legalize sales of recreational cannabis in the suburb of 12,000, stood at 1,563 in favor of the measure and 1,550 against late Thursday.

That’s a 13-vote difference, which could easily be affected by provisional ballots that have yet to…

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Colorado voters approve, reject local pot sales ballot measures

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Voters said yes to retail pot sales in Englewood and Palisade but no in Federal Heights, Del Norte, Palmer Lake and four other Colorado towns and cities on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Denver’s measure to permit limited cannabis consumption inside certain businesses continued to lean narrowly toward approval as of early Wednesday. Initiative 300 held a 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent edge, consistent with its lead from tallies posted Tuesday evening.

Marijuana-related measures have become a staple…

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In shake-up, Denver’s marijuana policy director will take over Excise and Licenses department

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Denver marijuana policy adviser Ashley Kilroy.

Denver mayor’s office

Denver marijuana policy adviser Ashley Kilroy.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday announced a reshuffling that will merge his groundbreaking marijuana policy shop into the Department of Excise and Licenses, with Ashley Kilroy serving as director of both.

The move elevates Kilroy, Hancock’s marijuana policy adviser, to the mayor’s cabinet, succeeding outgoing licensing executive director Stacie Loucks. It also places the Office of Marijuana Policy — created…

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