Large pharmaceutical companies could potentially make billions if marijuana is legalized in the United States. But could Big Pharma enjoy a windfall in Colorado right now? A clause of HB 1043, the MMJ cleanup bill signed by Governor John Hickenlooper last week, contains a potential loophole allowing out-of-state firms to…
A March report from See Change Strategy LLC pegged the national medical marijuana market at $1.7 billion, with the market doubling in five years. Impressive, sure, but according to InvestorPlace.com, a prominent financial site, it’s a relative drop in the bucket compared to the $10 billion to $100 billion market…
In general, the Internet is a marijuana-friendly place — but that doesn’t mean every door is open to weed, as pot advocate Mason Tvert learned firsthand. His publisher wanted to use Facebook to tout a special deal on his book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to…
Ever since U.S. Attorney John Walsh sent a letter suggesting that parts of HB 1043, the medical marijuana cleanup bill, would likely violate U.S. law, the local MMJ community has feared a federal crackdown on the industry — and perhaps even on state employees regulating it. Do comments made in…
Emerald Pathways in Glendale didn’t hit the sweet spot for medical marijuana reviewer William Breathes. But it’s hardly the only MMC in town, as you’ll discover by visiting our just-updated MMJ listings. Click to access our medical-marijuana dispensary directory…
This dispensary has closed. Ganja prices have dropped at area dispensaries over the past few months, and quality has gone up as shops dial in their grows and start pumping out gorgeous, stinky buds. Emerald Pathway needs to catch on to that trend to survive, because selling $50 eighths of…
The Caregivers’ Cup has been a local medical marijuana scene staple for eight years via semi-annual gatherings featuring product contests and more. But organizer Timothy Tipton says the next get-together, slated for June 26 at the Oriental Theater, will be the last due to the anticipated passage of HB 1043,…
Today, eight proposed 2012 marijuana legalization ballot measures were considered by the Colorado Office of Legislative and Legal Services. However, few changes were made and little was said by the initiatives’ backers…
Last May, medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry was among a group of attorneys threatening to sue if HB 1284 and SB 109, a pair of MMJ measures, became law. Nearly a year after Governor Bill Ritter signed both bills, such a suit has yet to materialize. But Corry swears that…
Patients who’ve tried to charge their medical marijuana purchases to American Express recently made an unpleasant discovery: As of April 30, American Express started denying all such transactions. “American Express has made a decision not to allow card acceptance for medical marijuana,” says company spokesperson Diana Postemsky. “It’s our policy…
The medical marijuana licensing process has been underway for just shy of two weeks, and according to Dan Hartman, head of the state’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division (MMED), things have been running smoothly for most owners and staffers. Which isn’t to say every business has sailed through. Thus far, nine…
This week, medical marijuana reviewer William Breathes checks out the harvest at Rocky Mountain Farmacy. But it’s hardly the only place to spend your green on green, as you’ll discover by visiting our just-updated MMJ listings. Click to access our medical-marijuana dispensary directory…
This dispensary has closed. Rocky Mountain Farmacy didn’t look like anything special. Based on what I thought was the size of the place from the outside, it came across as a weed Walmart. Like they had sixty strains on their shelves and cases full of pipes and accessories, but none…
Last week, medical marijuana advocate Kathleen Chippi, who’s collecting funds for a lawsuit to stop HB 1284, Colorado’s main MMJ regulatory measure, criticized attorneys who’d announced their intention to sue over the bill last year but haven’t done so. Why not? Lauren Davis, a lawyer in the group, offers a…
Update: Last week, Colorado Coalition for Patients and Caregivers’ Robert Chase sent an open letter to mayoral candidates Chris Romer and Michael Hancock, asking them to answer three key questions about marijuana policy in the city; see it below. At this writing, neither camp has responded to the request. So…
Last October, attorney Rob Corry wrote to John Hickenlooper to ask the then-Denver mayor to stop prosecuting Lacy Lee, a woman busted for smoking pot at a pro-cannabis rally; the case was later dropped. Now, Corry’s written to Hick again, this time to offer expert analysis on HB 1043, a…
Last week, a group led by Mason Tvert and Brian Vicente filed eight initiatives to legalize marijuana in 2012 in what Cannabis Therapy Institute’s Laura Kriho saw as a unilateral move that short-circuited input from grassroots locals. Rather than further fueling this spat, Vicente has extended an olive branch…
In a striking example of medical marijuana’s growing legitimacy, the Denver-based Namaste Hospice will begin offering free medical marijuana to patients with terminal illnesses. While end-of-life care might not seem like the most cutting-edge of industries, Namaste, which has been providing Denver-area hospice services since 1998, seems to be downright…
The filing of eight 2012 marijuana legalization initiatives by a group led by Brian Vicente and Mason Tvert has come in for criticism from Cannabis Therapy Institute’s Laura Kriho, who accuses organizers of ignoring local activists. But Tvert says nothing could be further from the truth…
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has released the latest data about medical marijuana patients in the state, and the numbers are fascinating. As of March 31, the most recent date available, 137,556 people have applied to the patient registry, and 123,890 — most of them male –…
Not every marijuana activist was thrilled by news that Brian Vicente has filed eight pot-legalization initiatives with the state. Indeed, Cannabis Therapy Institute’s Laura Kriho, one of the main figures behind the separate Legalization2012.com group, is unhappy with what she sees as “a strange, unilateral move.”…
Sensible Colorado’s Brian Vicente has been talking about a 2012 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use here since at least this November 2009 post. But his effort to accomplish this feat is one step closer to reality now that he’s submitted eight variations on a legalization measure to…
