Browsing: Technology

Colorado’s cannabis industry is still changing at a rapid pace. The industry’s watchdog, the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, updates its rules and regulations every year in hopes of catching up with the expanding field, which is growing like a weed in more ways than one.

The MED’s annual meetings aren’t unique to cannabis; plenty of regulatory agencies update their rules each year. But governing a federally illegal industry that is continually developing new methods for ingestion, packaging and product extraction takes a lot of work. That’s why the MED held six stakeholder meetings over the summer and into the fall, with public health and regulatory officials, industry members, law enforcement representatives and other individuals that make up Colorado’s legal cannabis picture.

Matthew Kind can’t do many interviews past noon. Next month, he might have to shut off even earlier, depending on which time zone he’s in. Such restrictions are usually avoided by talk-show hosts, who stick closely to standard production deadlines in order to consistently churn out content. Yet Kind’s ever-evolving itinerary is exactly why he chose this line of work.

The host of the CannaInsider Podcast and his family of four have lived in nearly a dozen countries throughout Europe and North America since 2016, thanks largely to a substance that would get him arrested at most international borders: His weekly podcast, which he hosts remotely with the help of his wife, Bethany, focuses on business and industry trends in cannabis.

Recent Colorado Department of Transportation figures show that stoned-driving fatalities went down from 2016 to 2017 for those over the legal intoxication limit but up in fatal crashes involving drivers who tested positive for any marijuana in their system, whether above the line or under it. Such mixed results are typical according to a new report, which acknowledges that getting firm answers about the risks involved with driving high remains an enormous challenge.

And there are plenty of reasons why.

Founded in 2010, Incredibles made a name for itself with its popular cannabis chocolate bars. But the infused-products brand has expanded its line to include live resin, tinctures, bath salts and suppositories, and it’s even entered the emerging legal markets in California, Illinois, Nevada and Oregon.

To learn more about the edibles trade and what’s next for infused products, Westword spoke with Incredibles founder Bob Eschino about what’s been going on in the kitchen.

Cannabidiol enthusiasm is reaching a fever pitch in Colorado. Consumers snarf CBD down in doughnuts, slurp it up with CBD-infused lattes, lather it on with lotions, gulp it down in capsules and, of course, puff it the old-fashioned way with high-CBD pot strains. But while the CBD craze consumes Colorado, CBD remains illegal in many American markets, since it is still labeled by the DEA’s Schedule I as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

But there is a loophole: for CBD that is not derived from cannabis. And the Peak Health Foundation took advantage of that loophole to create Real Scientific Humulus Oil (RHSO-K), a CBD oil derived from the kriya brand humulus plant. Because that plant is a variety of hop, not cannabis, the oil is legal in this country.

More evidence that the economic impact of marijuana goes far beyond the sale of cannabis products: A Denver-metro company is now marketing a brand of paint specifically designed to cover up the smell of pot smoke.

The label wrapped around cans of OdorDefender Paint, created by ECOBOND, a company based in Arvada, sports a green-suited cartoon superhero and text that boasts that the product offers “DEFENSE AGAINST … Marijuana & Odor-producing Drug Fumes.”

Watching the fast rise of cannabidiol (CBD) and the ensuing interest in other cannabinoids, such as cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG), has been fascinating, but are we overlooking the value and diversity of what drew us to cannabis in the first place?

Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most abundant cannabinoid found in the plant; it’s notorious for the high it gives upon consumption. However, THC has also exhibited that it can play a vital role in helping with nausea, pain, sleeping disorders and other ailments. Cannabis extractors have even discovered varying forms of THC, with minor disparities in where chemical bonds occur.

 

Sales data has shown a consistent growth in cannabis extracts and other forms of consumption as the legal pot industry advances. While part of the allure is sheer novelty, many new technologies have given medical patients more standardized treatment and retail users more consistent effects.

Colorado extraction company Ebbu’s products are known for unconventional consumption methods, like its water-infusing THC drops that landed the company a partnership with Blue Moon creator Keith Villa to manufacturer a THC-infused, non-alcoholic beer. The company represents a shift toward chemistry in the legal cannabis community, mapping out the vast and varying constellations of different cannabinoids. But what can the plant’s genetic makeup do for mankind as we learn more about it? We chatted with Ebbu general manager Damon Michaels to find out.

In the wake of another successful NoCo Hemp Expo — a hemp trade show in Loveland that drew over 6,000 attendees last year — expo production company Colorado Hemp Company now wants to dip its toes down South.

The Loveland-based company announced its inaugural Southern Hemp Expo on Tuesday, July 10. Scheduled for September 28 and 29 at the Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee, the event touts a tasty slate of attractions for hemp lovers and industry insiders, including a full-scale exhibit hall, networking opportunities, presentations, workshops and plenty of hemp-based food.

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