Colorado Law Sets up Marijuana Banks; Feds Must OK

[Source: ABC News]

Seeking to move marijuana businesses away from cash-only operations, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation Friday that tries to establish the world's first financial system for the newly legal industry in Colorado.

The legislation seeks to form a network of uninsured cooperatives designed to give pot businesses a way to access basic banking services like checking. But approval from the Federal Reserve remains a hurdle.

Out of fear of violating federal law, banks don't work with marijuana businesses. That has led to concerns that the burgeoning marijuana industry could be a target for robberies.

Mike Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said a member of his organization was robbed a few days ago. The cash-only model has become stressful for businesses and their employees, he said.

"We don't a need a vault. What we need is checking," he said. "We're looking for a way to take cash out of the businesses.

READ MORE HERE: Colorado Law Sets up Marijuana Banks; Feds Must OK

Dr. Oz Backs Medical Marijuana, Says It's 'Hugely Beneficial'

The movement of the benefits that medical marijuana can provide just keep climbing the mountain that many thought was impossible. Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE!!!

[Source: Huffington Post ]

Medical marijuana just got another celebrity doctor's public support.

During an interview Monday with Dr. Mehmet Oz on "Larry King Live", King asked Oz if he'd changed his views on marijuana.

"I have," Oz responded, and went on to explain just how far he's come from his early beliefs about the plant. "I grew up like most of my generation believing that marijuana was something Satan was throwing at Americans, a communist plot. But I think most of us have come around to the believe that marijuana is hugely beneficial when used correctly for medicinal purposes," Oz said.

Oz joins the ranks of other TV medical experts who have come out in support of medical marijuana in recent years, including CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who recently "doubled down" on his support, and ABC News' chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser.

A vast majority of Americans now believe that marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes. According to a recent CBS News poll, 86 percent of Americans think that doctors should be able to legally prescribe medical cannabis to patients suffering from serious illnesses.

READ MORE HERE: Dr. Oz Backs MMJ

Colorado Lawmakers Shoot Down Cannabis Banking Legislation…For Now

[Source: International Cannabis Business Conference]

Right now as you are reading this article, chances are someone in Colorado is making a legal marijuana purchase. The transaction involves cash, the amount of which likely ranges between $20 to multiple hundreds of dollars. When you compile all of these cash transactions throughout the day, the pile of money that results is sizable. For some recreational or medical marijuana stores in Colorado, the pile is so large that they are having trouble finding a place to keep it, Since federal banking laws are hazy at best when it comes to marijuana businesses. In related news, safe and vault sales are on the rise in Colorado.

Large piles of cash lying around can pose some public safety issues, as they are magnets for robbers. This is something that non-marijuana businesses haven’t had to deal with since the invention of armored transport (something else that marijuana businesses can’t use). Colorado lawmakers were trying to change that problem, but efforts were squashed this week.

Read entire article here: Colorado Lawmakers Shoot Down Cannabis Banking

Hemp expansion sails through Colorado Senate

[Source: DenverPost]

A Colorado bill to expand industrial hemp production has sails through the state Senate and now heads to the House. 

Senators voted 35-0 Wednesday to expand the number and size of farms growing hemp, marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin.

The measure would allow year-round hemp cultivation in greenhouses and strike a 10-acre limit on hemp for research and development.

Colorado just opened applications for hemp cultivation in march, with applications accepted until May. Agriculture officials say there is strong interest and that industrial hemp research and production should be expanded.

READ MORE:  Hemp expansion sails through Colorado Senate

Colorado slows medical marijuana crackdown

 

[Source: Kristen Wyatt Associated Press]

Colorado appears to be giving up on its effort to crack down on medical marijuana growers who are using a legal loophole to grow high numbers of pot plants without the kind of oversight faced by commercial growers. 

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment said in a statement Monday that it was reviewing responses to letters it sent earlier this month to about 2,300 doctors who have recommended medical marijuana. The letters sought medical justification for recommending more than six plants to any patient.

Colorado's state constitution allows medical marijuana patients up to six plants, though doctors can give permission for more plants. The constitution also allows patients to designate a "caregiver" to grow the pot on their behalf. Colorado has about 3,300 designated caregivers, registered under a model that wasn't affected by the passage of recreational pot in 2012.

READ MORE: Colorado slows medical marijuana crackdown

Boulder County commissioners impose temporary moratorium on retail marijuana license applications

 

[Source: Times-Call] 

Boulder County commissioners this Tuesday imposed a temporary 22-day moratorium on accepting applications from anyone seeking to engage in retail sales of recreational marijuana, or the growing of that marijuana, in unincorporated parts of the county. 

The moratorium formalizes a position the commissioners took last week. It leads up to an Oct. 22 public hearing at which the commissioners are to consider not-yet-written temporary regulations that would allow current medical-marijuana establishments already operating in the unincorporated areas of the county to begin seeking Boulder County licenses to use their current locations for the growth, wholesale or retail markets for recreational marijuana.

That Oct. 22 hearing and meeting also is expected to include consideration of what the appropriate length of time might be for any additional moratorium on retail marijuana establishments to give county officials a chance to study what regulations, fees and ballot measures might be needed to oversee retail marijuana establishments.

Unless the commissioners extend the moratorium beyond Oct. 22, applicants that now are operating as medical marijuana centers in the county could begin seeking county retail marijuana licenses on Oct. 23 and might be able to begin selling marijuana for recreational use as early as next January.



Boulder County City Council Information - CLICK HERE

Article here: Boulder County Commissioners...

Historic retail marijuana rules and regulations passed by Denver Council

[Source: The Denver Post]

Denver City Council Monday night passed a historic bill that sets the rules and regulations for the retail marijuana industry in the state's largest city.

Most other big municipalities around Colorado have taken a time-out from setting their own regulations with many opting out to see how Denver's system will work. Denver also was the first to take on medical marijuana regulations.

"The whole world is watching, not just the country," said Councilman Charlie Brown, who led the council committee on the issue. "There will be some changes. It is a work in progress. We did what we could, but this is a huge unknown."


Two changes were put into the new law:
• Any medical marijuana facility that has not applied for a city license by Oct. 1 will be shut down.
• Distances now will be measured as the crow flies, not in terms of distance a pedestrian can walk after an amendment by Councilman Paul Lopez that was approved. Going forward, no new dispensary or retail shop can be within 1,000 feet of a school, child care center, drug and alcohol treatment center or another marijuana facility as the crow flies.

Here are some key elements to the new law:
• Through Jan. 2016, only licensed medical marijuana businesses in good standing will be licensed to sell retail marijuana.
• Retail marijuana stores can share the same location with a medical marijuana centers.
• Public hearings will be required before licenses are granted to retail facilities. But the hearings will be less restrictive than liquor licences.
• Similar buffering to the medical marijuana laws will be in effect with no dispensaries allowed within 1,000 feet of a school, child care center, another marijuana facility and drug and alcohol treatment facilities.


Ge the complete story:  Historic retail marijuana rules and regulations passed by Denver Council

Colorado first state in country to finalize rules for recreational pot

[Source: John Ingold, The Denver Post]

In 136 small-type pages, Colorado this week became the first state in the country to adopt final rules for recreational marijuana businesses.


The rules, released late Monday, cover everything from pot shop licensing to inventory tracking to marijuana packaging to advertising. They also represent the most comprehensive effort to date to take the once all-illegal marijuana market and harness it into what supporters say will be controlled, refined legitimacy.

Applications to open a recreational marijuana store can be filed starting in only three weeks. The first stores are expected to open around Jan.1, 2014.


Among the highlights of the rules:

• All marijuana stores, cultivation facilities and marijuana-infused products makers must be licensed and pay fees ranging from $2,750 to $14,000.
• Until October 2014, recreational marijuana stores must grow themselves almost all the pot they sell.
• All businesses must use the state's forthcoming online inventory tracking program to document their marijuana's journey from cultivation to processing to sale.



Complete story: Colorado first state in country to finalize rules for recreational pot

California Legalization On Deck for Marijuana Policy Project

[Source:East Bay Express; David Downs]

The nation’s largest marijuana policy organization announced Monday it will throw its weight behind a major effort to legalize cannabis in California in the 2016 general election. The Marijuana Policy Project plans to work with a broad coalition of local advocates and leaders in California to pass an initiative that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. A February Field Poll showed that 54 percent of Californians support taxing and regulating pot.

"The Golden State has long been a leader when it comes to compassionate and fiscally sound marijuana policies,” stated Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The majority of Californians support making marijuana legal for adults, and they are going to make it a reality soon.”

Full read here: California Legalization On Deck for Marijuana Policy Project

What States are Likely to Sell Legal Marijuana Next???

[Source: The Huffington Post - Nick Wing ]

Attorney General Eric Holder gave a green light on Thursday to two states whose efforts to legalize marijuana had been locked in by legal uncertainty for more than nine months. With that announcement, Colorado and Washington -- both of which passed pro-pot initiatives at the polls last November -- can now proceed with establishing a framework for the taxation and regulation of legal weed for adults.

The administration's decision holds clear and immediate implications for the two states, both of which had been hesitant to act too quickly over concerns that the government might decide to enforce federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal substance.

But the move also, and perhaps more importantly, throws open the gates for other states to pursue similar pot legalization efforts, so long as they include "strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems." Experts on both sides of the issue have already said they expect to see movement come quickly.

Find out what the possible next 10 States are to Legalize Pot: What States are Likely to Sell Legal Marijuana Next???

Congress to Hold Hearings on State and Federal Marijuana Conflict

[Source:Erik Altieri, NORMLCommunications Director]

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has scheduled a hearing to address the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

“It is important, especially at a time of budget constraints, to determine whether it is the best use of federal resources to prosecute the personal or medicinal use of marijuana in states that have made such consumption legal,” Senator Leahy stated, “I believe that these state laws should be respected. At a minimum, there should be guidance about enforcement from the federal government.”

The hearing is scheduled for September 10th and both Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole have been invited to testify.

The hearing comes after 20 states have approved of the medical use of marijuana and two states have legalized it for recreational use. The Department of Justice had promised clarification for these states regarding how, or if, the federal government intends to respond, but has thus far failed to provide any clear policy or guidance. It is the hope of Senator Leahy these hearings will address the concerns of these states and provide them a way to move forward with their state approved marijuana laws

See more at: Meeting on State and Federal Marijuana

Recreational Marijuana Sales Banned In More Than Two Dozen Colorado Cities

 
[Source: HuffingtonPost]

Although Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed several historic measures to implement marijuana legalization in the state, establishing Colorado as the world's first legal, regulated and taxed marijuana market for adults back in May, many of the Centennial State's cities are banning retail legal weed.

On Tuesday, Colorado Springs, the state's second largest city, is expected to vote to ban retail recreational marijuana stores, The Associated Press reports. Four of nine Colorado Springs City Council members have already said they will vote against retail weed stores. But even if legal marijuana sales are approved, Mayor Steve Bach has vowed to veto recreational pot shops in the city limits.

The City Council could just ban recreational marijuana sales altogether or allow marijuana sales but also pass a moratorium on opening pot shops until after Colorado voters weigh in on approving tax rates for recreational marijuana in the state this November. But according to the Gazette, Bach has said he'd even veto the moratorium option.

"This is so important to our community and in our best interest that I will respectfully need to veto anything short of opting out," Bach said in a Gazette report. 

Recreational pot sales in Colorado cities that opt-in can begin on Jan. 1, 2014

Continue reading: Recreational Marijuana Sales Banned... 

CHECK NOBO TODAY!!!

Gov. Pat Quinn to sign bill legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois

 

Congratulations to the state of Illinois for becoming the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana and to showing the movement is well on its way. 

[Source: Associated Press/ABCLocal]

July 31, 2013 (CHICAGO) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign legislation making the state the 20th in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana. 

His remarks Thursday will focus on providing relief to the seriously ill, including veterans.
The Chicago Democrat will also tout the legislation's strict standards, which experts say are among the nation's toughest. That's according to a copy of details obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. 

The measure outlines a four-year pilot program that requires patients and caregivers to undergo background checks and sets provisions for state-regulated dispensaries. The proposal says seriously ill patients can be allowed up to 2.5 ounces at a time. 
 
Jim Champion, a veteran with multiple sclerosis who's advocated for medical cannabis, has been invited to speak at Thursday's bill signing. 

Original Article: Illinois signing medical marijuana  bill..

(Copyright ©2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Colorado Department Of Revenue Announced Members Of Marijuana Rulemaking Working Groups

The working groups for Colorado’s Amendment 64 implementation have been announced. Below is the info, which can also be found by clicking here:

Amendment 64 of the Colorado State Constitution and HB13-1317 directs the State Licensing Authority (SLA) to adopt rules for retail marijuana. The first step in the process was the adoption of the July 1, 2013 emergency rules, which established a robust regulatory structure for retail marijuana designed to protect public safety and prevent diversion of retail marijuana to minors. With those goals in mind, the SLA filed a Notice of Rulemaking with the Secretary of State on July 15, 2013 in order to adopt permanent rules for retail marijuana and revised set of rules governing medical marijuana.

The SLA encourages interested parties to submit written comments on the proposed rules, including alternate proposals, by August 15, 2013, so that the SLA can review comments prior to the rulemaking hearing. Written comments will also be accepted after that date, until the rulemaking record is closed following the hearing.

The SLA will accept all written comments but strongly encourages written comments to be submitted on Form DR 2477. The form is available on the Department of Revenue’s (DOR) Amendment 64 page, which can be found at: www.colorado.gov/revenue/amendment64.

Please print, complete and save Form DR 2477 as a separate document and then submit the Form via e-mail. Written comments and completed Forms DR 2477 may be emailed to: dor_ruleform@state.co.us.

In addition, you may submit completed Forms DR 2477 to:
Colorado Department of Revenue
Executive Director’s Office
RE: Rules
1375 Sherman Street, Room 409
Denver, CO 80261

Written comments will also be accepted at the rulemaking hearing and at all stakeholder working group meetings.

Stakeholder Working Groups & Members: The SLA is organizing five stakeholder working groups to engage in depth discussions about the permanent rules for retail marijuana and the revised rules for medical marijuana. Each group will focus on a different aspect of those rules and include an almost entirely different set of stakeholders. The following is list of the stakeholder working groups and the members for each group.

The Licensing, Licensed Premises, Transportation and Storage Working Group
o Chair: Lewis Koski (Marijuana Enforcement Division)
o Adrienne Russman (Governor’s Office)
o Judy Steele (City and County of Denver, Excises and Licenses)
o Melanie Snyder (Attorney General’s Office)
o Chris Olson (County Sheriff of Colorado)
o Brenda Davis (Colorado Division of Gaming)
o Jeff Gard (Attorney)
o Brooke Gerhing (Medical Marijuana Industry Business Owner)
o Meg Collins (Cannabis Business Alliance)
o Collon Kennedy (Colorado Communiqué, LLC)

The Licensed Entities and Inventory Tracking Working Group
o Chair: Ron Kammerzell (Department of Revenue)
o Cally King (Governor’s Office)
o John Vicchiarelli (Department of Revenue)
o Matt Huron (Medical Marijuana Industry Large Business Owner)
o Jessica LeRoux (Medical Marijuana Industry Small Business Owner)
o Ronn Nixon (Consumer Advocate)
o Eric Bergman (Colorado Counties, Inc.)
o Ann Marie Jensen (Jensen Public Affairs representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police)
o Tom Raynes (Colorado District Attorney’s Council)
o Gennifer Murray (Medical Marijuana Laboratory Owner)
o Amy Poinsett (MJ Freeway)
o Mike Elliot / Norton Arbelaez (Medical Marijuana Industry Group / Compliance Officer)

The Record Keeping, Enforcement, and Discipline Working Group
o Chair: Hank Hassler (Marijuana Enforcement Division)
o Cally King (Governor’s Office)
o Kevin Bommer / Rachel Allen (Colorado Municipal League)
o Kevin Fischer (Medical Marijuana Industry Owner)
o Mitch Murray (Colorado Springs District Attorney)
o Beverly Bookout (Boulder Police Officer)
o Melanie Snyder (Attorney General’s Office)
o Mark Slaugh (Medical Marijuana Industry Compliance)
o Joel Russman (Attorney)
o Stewart Zion (Department of Revenue)

The Labeling, Packaging, Product Safety, and Marketing Working Group
o Chair: Jordan Wellington (Marijuana Enforcement Division)
o Cally King (Governor’s Office)
o Dan Anglin (Anglin Public Affairs representing EdiPure and Green Cross Colorado)
o Brian Swanton (Medical Marijuana Industry Owner)
o Andy LaFrate (Medical Marijuana Industry Owner)
o Sandra Solin (Capitol Solutions representing Smart Colorado)
o Jeff Groff (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment)
o Christian Sederberg (Attorney)
o Ernie Martinez (Denver Police Department)
o Professor Charles Patti (Interim Dean and Professor of Marketing at the University of Denver)
o Laura Borgelt (Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, Clinical Pharmacy and Family Medicine Department)
o Heather Despres (Laboratory Director for CannLabs)
o Dr. Uwe Christian (Medical Director at the Bio Analytics Laboratories at University of Colorado School of Medicine)
o Dr. Paula Riggs (Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Substance Dependence, University of Colorado of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus)

The Medical Differentiation Work Group
o Chair: Lewis Koski (Marijuana Enforcement Division)
o Adrienne Russman (Governor’s Office)
o Teri Robinette (Patient Advocate)
o Chief John Jackson (Greenwood Village Police Department)
o Cheri Hacket (Medical Marijuana Industry Business Owner)
o Tim McDowell (Medical Marijuana Industry Business Owner)
o Eric Spiedell (Medical Marijuana Industry Business Owner)
o Melanie Snyder (Attorney General’s Office)
o Sean McAllister (Attorney)
o Kimberly Ryan (Attorney)

The do's and don'ts of Colorado's new recreational marijuana rules

[Source: 9news.com]

DENVER - A sampling of rules for retail sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado. The rules were released Monday, but retail sales don't start until January.

• No single package of an edible marijuana product can contain more than 100 milligrams of active THC, no matter how many servings it contains.

• Colorado residents can buy up to an ounce of marijuana at a time. Out-of-state residents can buy up to a quarter-ounce.

• Labels on marijuana-laced snacks have to list their ingredients and carry warnings including "The intoxicating effects of this product may be delayed by two or more hours."

• Licensed growers can't sell to consumers. Marijuana can't be consumed at a cultivation site.

• Waste marijuana has to be "unusable and unrecognizable" when discarded. One method: It can ground up with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, plastic, food waste or grease.

• Testing facilities have to destroy the marijuana after they test it.

• Sheriffs, deputies, police officers and some other state officials can't get a marijuana retail license.

• Licensed retailers have to have video surveillance systems and commercial-grade locks.

• Retailers and their employees must wear identification badges issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Complete Article HERE

Colorado announces rules for recreational pot sales

[Source: Denver Post]

Detailed rules for how recreational pot in Colorado should be grown and sold starting next year were released Monday.

The state department that will regulate marijuana released more than 60 pages of rules for how marijuana sales will be licensed and regulated. The Colorado Legislature set broad parameters earlier this year, but many nitty-gritty rules were left to the Department of Revenue.

Pot has been legal since last year in Colorado, but retail sales don't begin until January. The voter-approved marijuana legalization measure adopted last year required the department to release rules by July 1. The rules released Monday don't apply to medical pot shops.

The rules require labels to include potency, expiration dates and a disclaimer that pot isn't legal outside Colorado and hasn't been safety-tested.

Recreational pot will also come with the disclaimer that "there may be health risks associated with the consumption of this product." 

Read entire story here: Colo. announces rules for recreational pot sales

Colorado poised to be the first state to regulate pot sales

[Source: Greg Campbell, http://dailycaller.com]

Against what looked like long odds at the beginning of the week, the Colorado state legislature passed several historic marijuana bills with time to spare on the last day of the lawmaking session Wednesday.

If signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper — as expected, although he has voiced his reservations about legalized pot in the past — Colorado will be the first state to officially regulate sales of the federally prohibited drug.

Among the new measures is a bill passed Tuesday that sets a stoned-driving limit of 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood, arguably the most contentious of the pot bills heard this year.

Lawmakers have tried six times over three years — including three times this year — to pass such a law. Opponents have said the limit is both arbitrary and a poor indicator of impairment, since marijuana affects people differently and chronic users can have elevated levels of THC even when they are perfectly sober.

READ MORE: Colorado poised to be the first state to regulate pot sales 
 

Colorado measure to halt marijuana sales dies

[Source: By John Ingold, The Denver Post]


Marijuana advocates late Monday fought back an effort that could have halted Colorado's plans for legal marijuana shops, ending a debate that swept through the state Capitol like a dust devil for a little more than three hours.

The proposal, Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, would have put two separate constitutional measures before the voters in November. The first would have asked voters to approve special sales and excise taxes on recreational marijuana. If that measure failed, a second measure would have asked voters whether they wanted to suspend recreational marijuana sales.

The resolution was introduced at about 6 p.m. on the third-to-last day of the legislative session — the absolute last moment it could have been formally proposed. It was sponsored by two dozen senators, including Senate President John Morse. And it cleared a Senate committee less than an hour after it was introduced.

READ MORE: Colorado measure to halt marijuana sales dies - The Denver Post

House Resolution 1635 - the National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy Act of 2013

[Source: Jennifer Huizen, Marijuanadoctors411.com]

Congressmen last week introduced House Resolution 1635 - the National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy Act of 2013 – which lays out terms for a 13-member committee consisting of ‘weed experts’ who will work together with government aid to review “the state and efficacy of current policies of the Federal Government toward marijuana.” Among other topics, the committee will focus their time on exploring how federal policy should act in conjunction with State law, the cost of prohibiting marijuana versus the potential tax benefits of legalization, the health impacts of marijuana, and the role of the current legal system in furthering improper or excessive marijuana prosecution. The committee will also rework the Controlled Substances Act, recommending “appropriate placement of marijuana in the schedule of the [federal] Controlled Substances Act,” in hopes of redefining marijuana from the same classification as heroin.

<<<Time to talk Federally continued>>>

Ask your U.S. representative to cosponsor H.R. 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act!

via The Marijuana Policy Project: There is big news in the halls of Congress! A new bipartisan bill would modify the federal Controlled Substances Act so that anyone acting in compliance with a state marijuana law would be immune from federal prosecution.

That’s right. The federal Controlled Substances Act simply would not apply to marijuana users, dispensary operators, and other individuals who have been courageous enough to help take marijuana production and sales above ground into state-regulated markets. Click here to urge your member of Congress to co-sponsor the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act.

We would like to thank Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) for his leadership on this bill. It presents a perfect opportunity for members to embrace the notion that states should be able to devise systems for regulating marijuana without their citizens having to worry about breaking federal law.

The goal is to have this bill be truly bipartisan, so it is being introduced with three Republicans (Reps. Rohrabacher, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), and Don Young (R-AK)) and three Democrats (Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Jared Polis (D-CO)). In order to build up the list of co-sponsors, we need you to make your voice heard.

Please use our online action center to urge your member of Congress to co-sponsor the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act. Just two minutes of your time will make a big difference. And please don’t forget to share this email with friends and family so that they can take action too.

ACT NOW!!!