New sales revenue data from the Colorado Department of Revenue shows that the state’s legal cannabis industry collected over $1.5 billion in 2017 and accounted for nearly $4.5 billion in sales since recreational stores first opened on January 1, 2014.
Browsing: Say what?
When over sixty people attended a presentation on weed and pain management at Louisville’s Balfour Senior Living late last month, most of them were joking about coming for the free samples as they settled into their seats. The audience, mostly made up of seniors who live at facility or people with elderly relatives looking for information, asked a number of questions covering the basics of using cannabis to treat medical issues, including how to get started.
Denver’s status as the country’s legal cannabis capital is in jeopardy now that California has started recreational sales, but one study shows that the Mile High City wouldn’t just take a step back if the rest of the world followed suit — it would become irrelevant. There are some questions about how the study’s figures apply to Denver, though.
A new survey maintains that nearly half of all marijuana users in legal cannabis states such as Colorado have gone to work high, and of those who’ve done so, 39 percent of them are stoned on the job at least once a week. But the unscientific poll can hardly be seen as the definitive word on a subject that’s stirred controversy here for years.
After launching a line of CBD-infused products this month, Kim Koehler is making her debut at the Indo Expo in Denver on Saturday, January 27. Her star product? CBD-infused lube.
A bill introduced in the Colorado Senate would require that a tracking agent be applied to medical and recreational marijuana and industrial hemp plants — even though the technology hasn’t been invented yet. SB 029 calls for “an agent that is applied to a marijuana plant, marijuana product, industrial hemp, or industrial hemp product and then scanned by a device,” in an attempt to improve marijuana tracking and help law enforcement officials distinguish where marijuana products originated. But some activists and businesses think the proposal goes too far.
My 420 Tours is a state leader in the cannabis tourism industry, attracting more than 1,000 visitors each month. When I visited its base of operations, nestled in a renovated loading dock just south of Elyria-Swansea, the only signs that it was a cannabis company were a pop-up display for an edibles brand and some CBD-infused cold-brew coffee — but I was only there for what was to come.
The company is known for pot-centric tours and classes ranging from infused cooking to sushi- and joint-rolling, but I signed in for the Budz and Sudz tour. The Budz and Sudz journey is one of the company’s most popular offerings, taking people to a cannabis cultivation facility, dispensaries and a brewery via a large party van every Thursday and Friday afternoon. One more thing: The party van is hotboxed with pot smoke virtually the entire time.
Dear Stoner: I buy marijuana products for my job and the parties I host. Am I allowed to deduct them on my tax returns? I have the receipts.
Pluto
Dear Stoner: Will TSA find my edibles when I’m going through security at Denver International Airport? I want to take some treats to Chicago but don’t know if that’s safer than mailing.
Jason
Approved by Colorado voters in November 2012, legal marijuana is now becoming mainstream in Colorado – but not without its fair share of controversy. New laws and regulations surrounding medical and recreational pot, a recent rise in legalization opponents thanks to United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s fear-mongering actions, and consolidation in Denver’s dispensary scene have all generated plenty of buzz.
For a rundown of what cannabis issues people have been talking about most this year, check out our ten most-read pot stories of 2017: