Whether it’s a photo of a grow operation, the bud or a perfectly rolled joint, we’re always in the mood for some good weed porn. Here are our favorite pictures from dispensaries that posted on Instagram this past week.
Author Kate Simmons
Karson Humiston knows how to help you get a job — and how to create your own. At 24, she’s the CEO and founder of Vangst Talent Network (formerly Graduajana), a company she started in college. Vangst will be holding a career fair and product showcase in Denver on Thursday, January 19, to help anyone interested in the cannabis industry learn more about the available opportunities.
“Most of the country is beginning to see that the cannabis industry is a huge job creator, and it’s really only going to get bigger,” Humiston says. “A lot of the candidates who come aren’t in the industry yet, but they like what they do and feel they can apply their skill sets to this industry. I think at this point, that’s what the industry is looking for.”
Here are the five areas Humiston sees as the main job opportunities in the cannabis industry.
The City of Denver has selected the members of its Social Consumption Advisory Committee, which will oversee implementation of Initiative 300, allowing social consumption of marijuana in the city, and has three meetings scheduled through February.
The twenty-person committee, which comprises city officials, Denver City Council members, community members and marijuana-industry representatives, will meet a total of six to eight times between now and June to draft the rules and regulations governing social-use licenses.
Andrew Freedman is moving on from his position as Colorado’s Director of Marijuana Coordination, Governor John Hickenlooper announced on January 5.
Freedman will still be involved with the cannabis industry and constructing policy: He’s launching a consulting firm, Freedman & Koski LLC, which will advise state and local governments on the implementation of marijuana legalization. (The firm’s website is already live, and packed with pot info.)
After working as Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia’s chief of staff from 2011 to 2013, Freedman became the campaign director for Yes on 66: Colorado Commits to Kids; from there, Hickenlooper hired Freedman to head up the state’s marijuana coordination office.
In the last two weeks of 2016, LivWell Cares, the philanthropic arm of LivWell Enlightened Health, gave nearly $800,000 worth of cannabidiol (CBD) to members of American Medical Refugees and the CannAbility Foundation, two prominent advocacy groups for medical marijuana patients.
“We want to get the product into the hands of the people who really, really need it going into the holiday season,” said Neal Levine, senior vice president of government affairs at LivWell. CannAbility and AMR “work with so many people hand to hand, I couldn’t think of anybody [better]to work with to make sure it gets to as many of the right people as possible.”
Four more states legalized recreational marijuana in November, but implementing those new programs may not go smoothly. Nevada is one of those states: Medical marijuana has been legal there since 2000, and last week the state website accidentally leaked personal information on nearly 12,000 people who have applied for medical dispensary licenses.
Applications are eight pages long and include detailed information about applicants, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, full addresses and physical details such as weight, height and eye and hair color.
Denver’s cannabis calendar is filling up this month. Whether you’d like to meet with other ganjapreners, learn more about how to market your business or get a job in the industry, you’ll find plenty of opportunities in January. Here’s the rundown:
Vicente Sederberg, Colorado’s first law firm to focus on marijuana, is expanding. Two of the firm’s partners were involved in crafting Amendment 64, the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana that Colorado voters approved in 2012, and the firm also had a hand in writing Denver’s social-use initiative, I-300, which was on the ballot this past November.
The firm represents all things cannabis, handling businesses and investors, while also providing corporate representation, offering full-service licensing and compliance departments, and dealing with real estate and legislative policies. And now it’s adding a hemp practice.
In November, Massachusetts voters approved recreational marijuana; that state was supposed to start legal sales in January 2018 — but now that date has been pushed back at least six months.
Personal possession, use and cultivation of cannabis became legal in Massachusetts on December 15, but last week state lawmakers voted to push back the licensing of any recreational stores until July 1, 2018.
This means that while possession in Massachusetts is legal, the sale of marijuana won’t be for at least eighteen months.
Our readers decided that marijuana, homelessness, JonBenét Ramsey and boobs were among 2016’s most fascinating topics. With a Trump presidency on the horizon, here’s betting 2017 will be even more interesting.
Keep reading for ten of our most popular news stories of the year: