Marijuana edibles will look different in Colorado starting Oct. 1, among many new state rules

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Beginning Saturday, medical and recreational marijuana edibles and other cannabis products sold in Colorado will be stamped with a new “universal symbol” aimed at raising public safety awareness.

The universal symbol — a diamond enclosing the notations “! THC” or “! THC M” — is part of a bundle of new state marijuana regulations going into effect on Oct. 1. In addition to new equivalency regulations for retail marijuana, other rules effective Saturday include the barring…

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Trial for Richard Kirk in Observatory Park slaying set for March 2017

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This undated file photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Richard Kirk. The Denver man accused of eating marijuana-infused candy he bought at a legal pot shop and then killing his wife while she described her husband's erratic behavior on a 911 call has changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

Denver Police Department

This undated file photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Richard Kirk. The Denver man accused of eating marijuana-infused candy he bought at a legal pot shop and then killing his wife while she described her husband’s erratic behavior on a 911 call has changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

The trial for Richard Kirk, who is accused of shooting and killing his wife, Kristine, in April 2014 at their Observatory Park home, is set for…

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Group works to let Grand Junction vote on recreational pot

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Members of Grand Junction Cannabis Action Now think the city has waited long enough for recreational marijuana.

The grassroots group is working to put the issue on the city’s April 2017 ballot, the Grand Junction Sentinel reports.

Registered agent Tanette Mucino said group members are waiting for the city to approve their petition language and then will start collecting the required 2,254 signatures from Grand Junction residents to put the issue on the ballot, the Sentinel…

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Embattled weed tech company MassRoots cuts jobs amid debt default

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By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist

MassRoots Inc., the cannabis-centric technology and social media company, has cut more than 40 percent of its workforce and recently defaulted on debt payments, the Denver-based firm disclosed.

MassRoots officials said they received notices of default after not being able to make required payments on an outstanding principal of $966,000 in convertible secured promissory notes issued this year, according to a filing made Sept. 21 with the U.S. Securities…

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The fitness-first, cannabis-second 420 Games come to Denver this weekend, Boulder next

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The 420 Games — described as athletic events “that promote the healthy and responsible use of cannabis” — are coming to Colorado for the first time. Events will be held at Denver’s Berkeley Lake Park on Sept. 24 and at the Boulder Reservoir on Oct. 1.

The Cannabist did a Q & A with the creator of the games, Jim McAlpine, a Bay Area-based former ski-industry entrepreneur.

Here’s what they found out:

The Cannabist: So the 420 Games are not consumption-friendly? This is not…

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2 Nebraska men get decades in prison for violent Westminster marijuana robbery

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Two Nebraska men have been sentenced to decades in prison for a violent 2015 marijuana robbery in Westminster, prosecutors say.

David Tatum, 19 , and Spencer Siroky, 24, were respectively ordered to serve 20 years and 27 years behind bars. Both are from Lincoln, Neb.

Authorities say in the early morning hours of July 19, 2015, the pair, along with a third man, robbed a home in Westminster at gunpoint where they tied up and pistol-whipped the homeowners who had been asleep.

During the…

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Longmont City Council debates rules for marijuana home grows

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The Longmont City Council on Tuesday discussed a proposed ordinance to regulate marijuana home grows that would keep the city aligned with state law.

Currently, Longmont residents are governed by state law, which allows Coloradans to grow up to six plants per resident over 21 in their homes for personal use. Marijuana use and cultivation is still illegal under federal law. But under Colorado law, plants must be kept in an enclosed, locked area that can’t be viewed openly….

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Colorado hits another cannabis 1st with certified hemp seed

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DENVER — Colorado notched another nationwide first Wednesday involving cannabis when state agriculture officials showed off the first certified domestic hemp seeds.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana.

The seed certification “is vital to the long-term growth of the industry,” said Duane Sinning of the…

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Hundreds mourn Jack Splitt, young advocate for medical marijuana and special-needs children

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The three powerful lawmakers took their turns speaking before the crowd, each one struggling to find the right words.

If this had been a political rally, maybe the words would have come easier. But this was something much tougher. This was a memorial for Jack Splitt.

“How many 15-year-olds change the world the way Jack did?” state Rep. Jonathan Singer asked during his eulogy.

A crowd of hundreds on Thursday remembered Splitt, a Jefferson County teenager who battled cerebral palsy…

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Two men indicted on 169-counts in alleged Denver-area synthetic cannabinoid enterprise

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John Swanson, Michael Whitney

Provided by First Judicial District Attorney

John Swanson, Michael Whitney

Two men have been indicted on 169 counts in an alleged synthetic cannabinoid enterprise that operated in the Denver area and across state lines and which authorities say included the manufacture, distribution and sale of laced herbal cigarettes.

Michael Jamal Whitney, 35, and John Palmer Swanson, 33, are accused of a litany of charges, including violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.

Other counts…

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CU Boulder drops to No. 10 on Princeton Review’s “Reefer Madness” list

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The University of Colorado’s Boulder campus dropped to No. 10 on this year’s “Reefer Madness” list compiled by the Princeton Review. The university was ranked No. 7 ranking last year after topping the list in 2012.

Norlin Quad used to host thousands of tokers on April 20, considered a pot holiday, but the campus appears to have succeeded in snuffing out the annual gathering in recent years. CU also has been taking steps to erase its reputation as a party school, the Daily Camera…

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Denver NORML’s pot clubs initiative falls short, won’t make November ballot

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One of two potential citywide initiatives aimed at allowing the social use of marijuana has failed to make the ballot after falling short in verified petition signatures, the Denver Elections Division said Monday.

That means Denver voters won’t get a chance in the Nov. 8 election to allow private marijuana clubs, which some other Colorado cities and towns have sanctioned. But they still might have the option of voting for a broader measure that would legalize the social use of…

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Pitkin County delays decision for woman who wants to turn pottery studio into pot grow

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A majority of Pitkin County commissioners voted to delay making a decision until next month on a Basalt-area woman’s application to start a retail marijuana growing operation.

Commissioners Patti Clapper, Steve Child and Michael Owsley voted Wednesday to continue Candace Resnick’s application until Sept. 28 to give her time to try to clear up issues associated with it, including allowing neighbors who haven’t yet been consulted to comment. Commissioners George Newman and Rachel…

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Jack Splitt, the teenager who changed Colorado medical pot law, dies

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Jack Splitt was a charmer, a flirt and a fighter for the right to open Colorado school doors for medical marijuana treatments for eligible students.

But most of all, the 15-year-old, who died Wednesday, was a good son and a role model for his younger brother, Cooper, their mother said Thursday. Stacey Linn also said Jack, who battled cerebral palsy and the brutal pain that accompanied it, came to Cooper in a dream early Wednesday, hours before his death.

“He was standing tall and in a…

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Thornton says yes to marijuana sales in face of vocal opposition

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THORNTON — The state’s largest city with an all-out ban on marijuana sales decided Tuesday to allow the nascent industry, but not before hearing an earful from members of the community.

The Thornton City Council voted 5-4 to allow retail marijuana shops — capped at a total of four citywide — to open in this northern suburb of 135,000. The city, the sixth-largest in Colorado, will start accepting applications from would-be dispensary owners Sept. 1.

But plenty of people in…

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New Colorado campaign hopes to inspire “trusted adults” to talk to kids about marijuana

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Colorado’s Health Department hopes talks from adult role models can help keep kids away from marijuana, and it has launched a new ad campaign with the goal of inspiring those adults to speak up.

The campaign will specifically target what the department calls “trusted adults” — people like parents, teachers, coaches and other mentors. It is based in part on results from the biennial Healthy Kids Colorado Survey that suggests children are much less likely to use marijuana if…

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Colorado districts wrestle with new law allowing students to use medical marijuana at school

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Colorado school districts this year are wrestling with a new law that allows students with a valid prescription to get medical marijuana treatments on school property with or without help from a school nurse.

“Jack’s Law” offers two alternatives for the state’s 179 school districts. They can write policies limiting where on campus the treatments can take place or what forms of nonsmokable cannabis can be administered. If the district doesn’t create a policy, parents or a…

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Boulder-area pot businesses worry annexation could shut them down

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A group of east Boulder marijuana companies located on county land the city plans to annex fear the move will put them out of business because they would be forced to comply with the city’s stricter pot laws.

The city is looking to annex 15 properties along 55th Street and Arapahoe Avenue. The properties include seven marijuana operations.

The businesses are concerned because city regulations are more restrictive and might preclude them from operating. Chief among them is a requirement…

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Suspensions re-instated for Colorado doctors who recommended high medical marijuana plant counts

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Four Colorado doctors accused of over-recommending high plant counts for medical marijuana patients have had their suspensions re-instated, after a judge reversed course and tossed out their lawsuit.

The decision means the doctors will go through with administrative hearings in the hopes of having their suspensions lifted. An attorney for the doctors says an appeal of the lawsuit’s dismissal is also likely.

The four doctors — Gentry Dunlop, Robert Maiocco, Deborah Parr and William…

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Floyd Landis, pro cyclist who admitted to doping, selling high-grade weed in Colorado

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LEADVILLE — Floyd Landis’ perfect life began to unravel within days of winning the Tour de France a decade ago last month. He tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Like every other racer caught doping, he denied it and then launched several years of expensive, and yet fruitless litigation.

The scrutiny weighed heavy as he was ostracized from his tribe for following, as it turned out, the well-worn doping path.

“That was a hard couple years. There were very few of us out…

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3 years into nation’s hemp experiment, crop’s future is hazy

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PUEBLO — Three years into the nation’s hemp experiment, a 20-acre farm in southern Colorado exemplifies the crop’s hazy potential.

Hemp could be enormously profitable, but right now there are just as many questions as answers for Will and Ally Cabaniss, two Florida natives who moved to southern Colorado to embark on the hemp business.

“Every day brings something new and different,” said Will Cabaniss, holding up a red plastic cup containing a hemp seedling awaiting planting….

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Denver voters could get choice on pot use: Allow it in private clubs or regular businesses?

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Denver elections officials are reviewing petitions for two potential local ballot measures that would allow the social use of marijuana — one in private clubs and the other in regular businesses, such as bars or cafes or even yoga studios, under certain conditions.

Backers of the competing initiatives each turned in thousands of petition signatures this week, the latest on Friday.

Whether to allow more prominent use of marijuana — and where — is shaping up as the biggest…

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Why pot taxes can’t solve Colorado’s budget problems

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A customer counts out cash for a transaction at the Native Roots pot shop in Boulder County. Marijuana sales in Colorado are subject to the regular state sales tax of 2.9 percent. In addition, recreational sales are subject to a special 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax.
A customer counts out cash for a transaction at the Native Roots pot shop in Boulder County. Marijuana sales in Colorado are subject to the regular state sales tax of 2.9 percent. In addition, recreational sales are subject to a special 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax.

“What do you mean the state has budget troubles? What about all the tax money from marijuana? Wasn’t that supposed to solve everything?”

As a nonprofit devoted to educating Coloradans on the state’s…

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Federal Heights council puts recreational marijuana vote on ballot after medical sales started in March

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The marijuana industry has been slow to arrive in the small city of Federal Heights, but officials and businesses expect its budding presence to make a direly needed economic impact on the city of about 12,000 people.

In 2014, voters approved the operation of medical cannabis facilities in the city. So far, a new business called Green Sativa is the first and only store to officially open at 8411 Pecos St. in March.

“The patients we have are really happy that we’re here, because a…

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Feds fund $35,000 giant joint billboard in Downtown Denver to combat pot-impaired driving

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A $35,100 billboard resembling a cross between a giant joint and a mangled car in downtown Denver is part of a statewide effort against smoking marijuana and driving.

The 28-foot tall billboard, displayed on the side of the Courtyard Marriott near the intersection of Curtis Street and the 16th Street Mall, is part of a Colorado Department of Transportation campaign. The billboard includes a headline: “Hits Lead to Hits, Don’t Drive High.”

“There are six marijuana dispensaries…

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Marijuana industry ditches burnout image for “suit and tie” approach to DNC

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PHILADELPHIA — This isn’t your teenage son’s marijuana industry anymore; it’s your button-down dad’s business — at least at the Democratic National Convention.

Even as pro-marijuana activists marched this week in Philadelphia with a fake 51-foot joint, teams of industry leaders and lobbyists were busy doing the kind of work one would expect from the beer or pharmaceutical industry: holding receptions, talking to politicians and discussing regulations.

In other words, the…

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Work with weed: Advice on what not to do at a job fair

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The concept of a cannabis-centric career fair is still novel enough to inspire a few chuckles. But the truth is this: Marijuana is a billion dollar-per-year industry in Colorado alone — and at least seven states are voting on recreational and medical initiatives in November.

There’s green in them there hills. So of course job seekers are hot to work in the legal marijuana trade.

Nearly 50 weed businesses will be exhibiting at the Vangst Talent Network cannabis career fair from 2-8…

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Official: Nederland house fire possibly started from hash oil explosion

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Firefighters work to put out a house fire on Monday in Nederland. Jeremy Papasso/ Staff Photographer/ July 25, 2016
Firefighters work to put out a house fire on Monday, July 25, 2016 in Nederland

The house fire that injured two earlier Monday south of Nederland’s Barker Reservoir — in the area of Pinecliff Trail and Alpine Drive — could have been started by a hash oil explosion, according to Erie Abramson, volunteer captain for Nederland Fire.

“I can’t really comment now but it’s a little suspicious that there’s tanks blowing off (in the house),” said Abramson. “We probably suspect some…

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How Colorado delegates are influencing the Democratic Party platform

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PHILADELPHIA — Democrats plan to vote Monday on their national platform and rules for this week’s Democratic National Convention, and the contributions of Colorado officials are expected to make an impact in two key areas: marijuana use and how the party selects its presidential nominee.

The pot provision was championed by Dennis Obduskey of Park County, a member of the platform committee, and it calls on Democrats nationally to support a policy that would remove marijuana as a…

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Kids’ emergency room visits for marijuana increased in Colorado after legalization, study finds

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Colorado’s laws on labeling and child-resistant packaging have been unable to stop an increase of young kids ending up in the emergency room after accidentally consuming marijuana, according to a new study published online Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The study — led by a doctor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus — found that emergency room visits and poison-control calls for kids 9 and younger who consumed pot in Colorado jumped after…

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Hugo water safe to drink after conclusive tests show no signs of THC

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Water in the town of Hugo is not contaminated with THC after all, state tests concluded Saturday morning.

The suspicion was first announced Thursday after county officials, using field test kits, got some positive tests results.

Saturday morning’s update from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said the initial test kit results are now believed to have been false positives.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation provided the more conclusive results indicating the water does not…

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Judge temporarily blocks Colorado medical marijuana doctors’ suspensions

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A Denver judge on Friday temporarily blocked the suspensions of four doctors who were the first in the state to be punished for allegedly over-recommending high plant counts to medical marijuana patients.

The doctors, though, won’t be allowed to make official medical marijuana recommendations until their disciplinary cases are resolved.

“It was a fair decision by the judge,” Dr. Robert Maiocco, one of the four suspended doctors, said after a Friday court hearing.

The ruling from…

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“Conclusive test results” on Hugo’s water expected by afternoon amid suspected THC contamination

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Authorities say conclusive test results on the town of Hugo’s water supply should be completed by early Friday afternoon amid a suspected THC contamination of a well.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said state health officials were running “broad spectrum” tests that would be done by about 1:30 p.m.

“We want to know too,” the sheriff’s office said in a tweet.

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Only 4% of Colorado tourists came for the legal weed in 2015, survey says

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Last fall, a research firm hired by the Colorado Tourism Office surveyed the state’s visitors and found that legal marijuana influenced vacation decisions for nearly half of the state’s visitors. Marijuana supporters heralded the report as proof that legal weed is a major player in the state’s $19 billion tourism economy.

Not so fast, says the tourism office: That number is really closer to 23 percent.

Marijuana tour in Denver
Mike Goldstein of New York photographs himself with plants at La Conte’s…

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Four Colorado doctors suspended over medical marijuana recommendations

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In the largest disciplinary action taken against medical marijuana doctors to date in Colorado, the state Medical Board on Tuesday suspended the licenses of four doctors for allegedly recommending excessive plant counts to more than 1,500 patients.

All of the recommendations involved approvals for patients to grow or possess at least 75 plants. The standard plant count for medical marijuana patients is six plants, and state health officials have long threatened to crack down on doctors…

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Pair arrested in Monument with 32 pounds of marijuana in rental car

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Angela Meridith 28, of Pennsylvania, face drug charges after police searched the car and discovered 42 packages containing about 32.5 pounds of marijuana
Angela Meridith 28, of Pennsylvania, faces drug charges after police searched the car and discovered 42 packages containing about 32.5 pounds of marijuana.

A man and woman were arrested Saturday in Monument when police found them in a rental car with more than 32 pounds of marijuana, stolen identification documents and a handgun, police said Monday.

Shawn Linnan, 37, of Maryland, and Angela Meridith, 28, of Pennsylvania, face drug charges after police searched the car and discovered 42…

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Marijuana taxes generate more than $8.4 million for Boulder County communities

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More than $8.4 million has flowed into Boulder County communities thanks to tax revenue generated by the sale of marijuana since legal sales began two-and-a-half years ago.

And though the money has been welcome, it has not been the cash cow thousands of Coloradans had expected.

In Boulder, which has the most dispensaries of any city in the county at 11, the tax has generated more than $6.4 million since it began flowing statewide in 2014, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue…

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Carbondale lowers cap on pot shop licenses, looks to cut down on smell

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CARBONDALE, Colo. — The Garfield County town of Carbondale is looking to lower the town’s cap for marijuana grow operations in hopes of addressing complaints about the smell.

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent reports that the Carbondale Board of Trustees has voted to cut back on the number of licenses for recreational grows in the town from five to three.

The town has already issued four licenses and all four of those businesses will be grandfathered in to the new policy….

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Roseanne Barr talks politics, pot before Denver documentary premiere

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Roseanne Barr’s 2012 presidential bid never had a serious chance of succeeding politically. But that wasn’t really the point.

As she has for decades, Barr roused the rabble in 2012 with her alternately laconic and fiery underdog messages. She addressed class chasms, marijuana legalization and other causes in speeches that spirited her around the country, reminding fans that she’s long been an advocate of average Americans.

Captured in the 2015 documentary “Roseanne for…

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Cannabis industry bolstering retail, manufacturing job growth in Colorado

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Halfway through 2016, Colorado’s employment growth is meeting expectations and the economy continues to outperform the nation: Employment is growing faster here, housing is hotter and incomes are higher, according to a report released Thursday by the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business.

And Colorado’s fledgling marijuana industry — which, in the grand scheme of things, is just a tiny sliver of the economic pie chart — is backfilling retail sales losses from the

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Marijuana dollars are having a huge impact on the civic soul of Edgewater

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EDGEWATER — This may not be the city that cannabis built, but Colorado’s most famous cash crop could soon be the driving force behind construction of a $7 million, 40,000-square-foot civic center in this tiny community wedged between Lakewood and Denver.

Edgewater is exploring using sales tax revenue from marijuana sales to cover more than half the cost — $4 million — of building a facility that will house a new city hall, police station, fitness center and library.

It’s a…

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Colorado pot sales reach almost $500M in first five months of 2016

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In the first five months of 2016, Colorado marijuana sales already were starting to flirt with the half-billion mark.

Colorado recreational pot shops and medical marijuana dispensaries reeled in nearly $98.6 million in sales during May, bringing the year-to-date tally for 2016 to just over $486 million, according to Colorado Department of Revenue tax data released Wednesday.

The state’s cannabis industry very well could surpass $1 billion in sales by November, if the coming months’…

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Cannabis symposiums return to Denver for second year

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The city and county of Denver will host its second Marijuana Management Symposium in October for those who implement state and local policies and regulations for their marijuana businesses.

The event will be Oct. 27-28 at the Colorado Convention Center. The city’s 2015 symposium was the first government-organized cannabis event of its kind. Last year there were 220 attendees and 110 presenters and staffers who went to conference sessions on data collection, law enforcement and public…

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When will the DEA announce its marijuana rescheduling decision?

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The Drug Enforcement Administration flaked on its self-imposed deadline to announce whether to reschedule marijuana, and now it’s not clear when a decision might come.

In April, the DEA told lawmakers in a letter that it was reviewing information on rescheduling and “hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016.” That hope ended when June did, and a DEA spokesman in Washington, D.C., told The Denver Post late last week that there is no update on the…

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Pro model pot emerges as latest marketing strategy for cannabis industry

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Pot is going the way of sneakers and snowboards.

As cannabis fights for a foothold in the U.S. economy, innovative weed growers are taking cues from a variety of industries — footwear, musical instruments, skis and snowboards, for example — and working with superstar musicians to develop signature marijuana strains, pro-model cannabis that sails off the shelves.

Colorado’s growers — captains of the state’s maturing cannabis scene — are leading the charge in this next stage…

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Activists behind THC-limiting initiative to withdraw controversial Amendment 139

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The activists aiming to implement strict THC limits on Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry will withdraw the controversial Amendment 139 next week, their attorney told The Cannabist.

“139 is done,” said attorney Frank McNulty, Colorado’s former speaker of the house and the lawyer representing the Healthy Colorado Coalition, made up of citizens pushing for tighter controls on the cannabis industry. “This is something I spent a great deal of time on in my last two years in…

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Marijuana grow connected to Mexican cartel dismantled south of Pueblo

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Officials Thursday confiscated more than 1,000 marijuana plants with a street value of $4.2 million after they were discovered on private property.

The illegal grow operation was near Rye, southwest of Pueblo. According to a news release from the Pueblo County sheriff’s office, Thursday’s dismantled grow is the fourth in four years believed to be connected to a Mexican cartel.

Two grows had been discovered and dismantled in August 2012, and a third was found and destroyed October…

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Autopsy shows teens in fatal Conifer crash had traces of Xanax and marijuana in their system

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The 18-year-old driver and two other teens who died in a car crash in May near Conifer tested positive for traces of prescription drugs and marijuana.

The crash happened at 4:35 p.m. on May 10 when the driver of a Dodge Dakota pickup truck heading south in the 12400 block of South Foxton Road, near Conifer, lost control and ran off the road, rolling down an embankment and into a creek.

Three teenage boys, including the driver, died. One other passenger was transported to a hospital and…

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New Denver pot-use initiative might compete with private clubs measure on Nov. ballot

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In this Aug. 25, 2014 photo, marijuana store Denver Relief co-owner Kayvan Khalatbari, right, talks with his employee Jeff Botkin his medical and recreational marijuana shop in Denver. Khalatbari also runs Denver Relief Consulting, which assists current and would-be marijuana-related businesses around the country, as well as owning a chain of pizza restaurants in Denver.
Denver Relief dispensary co-owner Kayvan Khalatbari, right, talks with employee Jeff Botkin at his medical and recreational marijuana shop in Denver in 2014. Khalatbari, who also runs Denver Relief Consulting, is the lead sponsor of a newly proposed public consumption ballot initiative. (Post file)

Denver voters could have their pick in November between two initiatives aimed at allowing social use of marijuana in different places.

One group has been gathering signatures for an…

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Amid effort to limit pot potency, industry strikes back with well-funded campaign

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A new coalition funded by the cannabis industry has formed in Colorado to fight a ballot measure that some say would crush the state’s billion-dollar marijuana industry.

The Colorado Health Research Council (CHRC) announced its formation Thursday to oppose Amendment 139, a constitutional amendment that would limit the THC-potency of marijuana and pot products at 16 percent. The average potency of Colorado pot products is already higher — 17.1 percent for cannabis flower and 62.1…

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