Colorado has now generated more than $1 billion in total state revenue from the legal marijuana industry, another milestone for the state that legalized cannabis in 2014. Colorado already has posted some big numbers: More than $6 billion in total sales of cannabis since the birth of the new industry — over $6.5 billion at […]
Colorado
As states like Colorado legalize recreational marijuana, medical cannabis patients drop dramatically
When states legalize pot for all adults, long-standing medical marijuana programs take a big hit, in some cases losing more than half their registered patients in just a few years, according to a data analysis by The Associated Press. Much of the decline comes from consumers who, ill or not, got medical cards in their […]
Colorado’s marijuana industry opened to outside investors Some of the state’s largest cannabis companies lobbied lawmakers
Colorado’s prohibition on publicly traded cannabis companies, which dates back to legalization and was previously preserved by former Gov. John Hickenlooper, is now a relic of the past. Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation Wednesday ending the ban, opening up Colorado’s cannabis industry to outside investors for the first time. A publicly traded Denver company says it can now […]
Colorado will allow marijuana delivery and tasting rooms soon under new laws — but with big catches
Starting next year, Colorado marijuana customers could begin getting their purchases delivered at home, like pizza. And people seeking to use marijuana socially — including tourists, who have few options for where to go — could consume what they buy in tasting rooms or bring-your-own-pot establishments. But there’s a big catch: Both will depend on whether your local government […]
Colorado raking in record marijuana money again in 2019, but in era of “stabilization” industry leaders look to impact of new legislation
Three major bills passed through the General Assembly in 2019 that could change the way the cannabis industry works in the coming years It’s become a predictable pattern in the era of legal recreational pot in Colorado. Every year, the state sets a record for marijuana sales then, 12 months later — poof — it […]
Colorado marijuana sales hit all-time record for a single month
People spent more money on marijuana in March 2019 than any other month since recreational marijuana sales began nearly five and a half years ago. According to data released by the Colorado Department of Revenue, sales of recreational and medical marijuana exceeded $142.4 million in March, over $1 million more than the previous top month for […]
Initiative 301—Cannabis After Magic Mushroom Decriminalization
When Denver voters approved Initiative 301 last week, they couldn’t have known that their votes may have impacted the future of cannabis legalization. For those who are unfamiliar, Initiative 301 essentially decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms. While it does not make legal these mushrooms, it does make them a low priority for law enforcement and prohibit the […]
Colorado’s Marijuana Laws Are About to Change…Big Time
Coloradans voted for major change in November 2012, when they approved Amendment 64 and legalized recreational cannabis. Now Colorado lawmakers have approved changes that will prove almost as momentous. Measures opening the state to social pot use and commercial cannabis delivery, as well as approving new medical conditions for medical marijuana, all passed the Colorado […]
A new era dawns for marijuana in Colorado. But some believe relaxed rules go too far.
The 2019 legislative session may one day be remembered as a turning point for the marijuana industry in Colorado — the moment it came to be viewed not as a challenge to be controlled, but as an opportunity to be embraced. Cannabis advocates and critics alike largely attribute the shift to the man in the […]
Gov. Polis signs bill authorizing medical marijuana use for autism
A bill allowing Coloradans with autism to use medical marijuana was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jared Polis. The new law — HB19-1028 — adds autism to the list of disabling medical conditions that allow a person to legally use medical marijuana, according to the bill. The bill, sponsored by state Reps. Edie Hooton, […]
Hemp Is Next: Colorado Wants More Than Marijuana Prominence
Already known as one of the country’s marijuana capitals, Denver is a heavyweight in the hemp industry, too, and that status is on full display at the NoCo Hemp Expo this weekend. After five years in Loveland, the NoCo Hemp Expo moved to Denver in 2019. The Crowne Plaza DIA‘s parking lot was packed and its event center bustling […]
Testing positive for marijuana won’t get you fired at more than half of Colorado companies, survey says
A recent survey has found more Colorado employers are relaxing their marijuana testing policies and fewer of them are firing workers who test positive for weed compared to a few years ago. Only 48 percent of Colorado companies with “well-defined” drug testing policies will fire a worker for a first-time positive test for pot, according […]
Colorado Cannabis Wants To Go Public, But Not Everyone Is Onboard
Colorado used to be on top of the cannabis world. As legalization spreads both in the U.S. and abroad, a lack of investor capital here could be the industry’s undoing. “Now we are chasing the wagon,” said Dean Heizer, the executive director and chief legal strategist of LivWell. “And we need to get back on the wagon, […]
Colorado marijuana sales crack $6 billion since 2014 legalization, state says
Colorado marijuana businesses have sold more than $6 billion worth of weed and related products since a voter-approved measure allowing adults over the age of 21 to consume recreational pot took effect in the state on Jan. 1, 2014. The milestone figure was highlighted Tuesday in a news release from the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, […]
“Where’s all that marijuana money?” Colorado’s pot dollars help schools, but maybe not as much as you think
Amendment 64’s promise to fix schools is kept, but in measured amounts A big part of the 2012 pitch to convince Colorado voters they should legalize recreational marijuana was that the tax money would fix their local schools. Five years after the first sale occurred on Jan. 1, 2014, that tax money has translated into […]
Feds, local police launch raids on up to 50 black-market marijuana grow houses in Denver area
Scores of agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency fanned out early Thursday morning in a coordinated raid of up to 50 suspected black-market marijuana grow houses in the Denver metro area, authorities say. Dozens of search warrants were served on homeowners and residents across the metro area, said Randy Ladd, spokesman for the DEA’s Denver […]
Meet America’s first pot governor, Colorado’s Jared Polis
The governor-elect takes office at a significant moment in Colorado for the cannabis industry. Jared Polis takes office Tuesday as Colorado’s new chief executive — and America’s first pot governor. The Democrat’s long-standing support for legal marijuana, his embrace of the industry as a core part of his campaign agenda and his unique strategy to […]
Denver officials want to clear some 10,000 low-level marijuana convictions, following in Boulder County’s footsteps
Denver officials are planning to clear thousands of marijuana convictions prosecuted before its use became legal in the state. Colorado was among the first states to broadly allow the use and sale of marijuana by adults, but cities elsewhere have led the way on automatic expungement of past misdemeanor marijuana convictions. A spokeswoman for Mayor […]
