[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