On Thursday, July 13, cannabis professionals ascended on Denver’s Cultivated Synergy for a quarterly meeting held by the National Cannabis Industry Association. But this wasn’t any ordinary meeting; it was a caucus – a cannabis caucus.
Author Toke of the Town
Colorado has collected more than $500 million in tax revenue from the cannabis industry since recreational sales began in 2014, according to a report from VS Strategies based on information from the Colorado Department of Revenue.
On July 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, authorizing $38.4 billion in spending. Wedged into this bill was the Industrial Hemp Water Rights Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation introduced in part by Colorado senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner.
The International Church of Cannabis arrived in Denver this spring on a gust of excitement and controversy, gaining attention for its artful restoration of a church in the West Washington Park neighborhood and public affirmation of cannabis events. All of that attention may have also created a target for law enforcement, however, with Denver police officers crashing the party and issuing citations during one of the church’s first big celebrations.
The reward being offered for information about the person or persons who killed Travis Mason, a former Marine who was fatally shot while working as a security guard at a marijuana dispensary in June 2016, has been increased to $55,000, more than triple the original amount. Authorities hope the increase will help break the case that’s remained unsolved for more than a year.
Dear Stoner: What’s this newfound affinity for 7/10? Sounds like a marketing ploy by the cannabis industry to me.
Skeptik
New legislation would force the federal government to allow veterans to obtain medical marijuana in states, like California, where it’s legal.
The amendment to force the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to make cannabis available to veterans who need it was recently approved by the Senate’s Appropriations Committee 24 to 7. The department would be prohibited from interfering with a veteran’s ability to obtain weed, and from blocking healthcare providers from giving pot to veterans where it’s legal, according to language attached to a military appropriations bill.
“The amendment ensures that veterans have equal access to all of the medical options available in their local community, to include medical marijuana in states where it is legal,” according to a statement from the office of co-author Steve Daines, a Montana Republican.
A strange Juicy Fruit gum commercial in the early 2000s had a man in a whale costume and a woman in overalls singing about “caring and sharing” on a children’s TV show. The scene was pretty wholesome until the whale stole Juicy Fruit from the woman’s pocket and ran. The previously caring woman tackled the whale like a free safety and pummeled him while the song about “caring and sharing” continued playing in the background.
Someone stealing a 25-cent stick of gum could never make me that angry, but a $35 eighth under the same name? That’s a different story.
Candace doesn’t particularly like sleeping outside, whether in the heat of the summer or the frigid winter. But as one of Aurora’s estimated 500 individuals experiencing homelessness, she doesn’t have much of a choice. The city’s only homeless shelter requires that its guests leave early in the morning, and after a bad night’s sleep in the crowded space, Candace is forced to sleep wherever she can outside.
Dear Stoner: Does smoking weed make acid reflux worse? I’ve noticed that my chest burns sometimes after smoking.
Timmy Tibs