BlueKudu founder and CEO Andrew Schrot (right) discusses a rebranding by his edibles company.

Denver Startup Week began in September 2012 as a chance for entrepreneurs to meet and trade ideas. Over the past five years, it’s evolved into an expansive event where anyone hoping to start a business can choose from hundreds of panel presentations featuring people who’ve been there, done that. And this year, ganjapreneurs are among the industry leaders sharing experiences and expertise.

At a September 13 panel titled “From Kitchen to ‘Shelf:’ Smart Growth Tips for Packaged Food Startups” at the Infinite Monkey Theorem Urban Winery, Andrew Schrot, founder and CEO of BlueKudu, a prominent edibles company, joined food-industry reps from 34 Degrees, Saso Pepper Co. and Capello’s Gluten Free; BrandJuice creative director John Bellina moderated a discussion that focused on the ever-growing food market in Colorado.

Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson on stage together in 2015.

Mama, we’re not in Muskogee anymore. Country legend Merle Haggard is throwing his hat into the marijuana market from beyond the grave.

Haggard died on April 6, 2016, on what would have been his 79th birthday. Before his death, however, he had joined forces with the Colorado Weed Co. in 2015 to develop connoisseur-grade marijuana strains. Now, after his death, his daughter Jenessa Haggard-Bennett and her husband, Brian Bennett, are working with the Colorado Weed Co. to follow through on one of her father’s last business endeavors.

Claudia didn’t think anything was wrong when United States Customs and Border Protection agents flagged her for an in-depth security screening after the early-morning flight from her native Chile landed at Los Angeles International Airport early on October 8, 2015. “It’s normal,” she says. “Sometimes the officers review people.” Besides, Claudia had never been in trouble in her life.

Agents directed her into a big, open room, where Claudia was told to place her luggage on a table for examination. Officer Torres, a Customs agent with a dark mustache, asked about her planned one-week visit to San Francisco and made friendly small talk as he went through her suitcase and purse. When he noticed her copy of Game of Thrones, he asked about her favorite character. When the 27-year-old said, “Jon Snow,” he smiled and replied, “You know nothing.”

The league and the plant appear to be on a collision course. 

Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. 

Lance Johnstone during an appearance on Jamaican TV.

Earlier this month, we told you about the first annual O.penVAPE Open, a charity golf tournament scheduled to take place on Monday, September 12, and noted that former NFL players would be among those hitting the links.

One of the most intriguing participants on the schedule is Lance Johnstone, who spent eleven years in the NFL during the last half of the 1990s and the first part of the 2000s, much of it as a defensive end for the dreaded Oakland Raiders.

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, with help from the Texas Attorney General, persuaded a judge to fine a local smoke shop and novelty chain $1.2 million for selling kush, Ryan’s office announced Thursday.

Katz Boutique and Smoke Shop agreed to pay the fines to settle several lawsuits filed by the state and Harris County against the company’s nine area stores. The penalty is the largest ever for sellers of kush, which is sometimes called synthetic marijuana, though the drugs share few similarities.

The activists put up a long fight.

Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.

Michigan almost certainly won’t vote on REC this year. The state’s Senate advanced regulation for MED dispensaries.

Both MED initiatives that will appear on the Arkansas ballot “ are simply recreational marijuana masquerading as medicine,” according to Jerry Cox, executive director of the conservative Christian group Family Council. If both initiatives pass, the one with more votes prevails.