The recent arrests and legal actions against a former Marijuana Enforcement Division official and several marijuana industry license-holders here in Colorado has been touted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions as an example of why this industry is not working. In a letter to congressional leaders on May 1, he also suggested that in some way the regulated marijuana industry contributes to more illegal marijuana trafficking. In actuality, a regulated system like the one in Colorado has created a boom for us in the areas of job creation, revenue generation and increased law enforcement support, and the list goes on.
Colorado is used to seeing marijuana sales tax dollars spike in April, thanks to the 4/20 holiday on April 20, but that wasn’t the case this year, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Sales tax data from the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division shows that Colorado’s 10 percent retail marijuana sales tax brought in slightly over $8.1 million statewide in April 2017, over $1 million more than the $6.94 million collected in April 2016 — but $2 million-plus less than what March brought in this year.
Only days after the release of a study saying that collision claim frequencies in Colorado are about 3 percent higher overall than would have been expected without marijuana legalization comes a competing report stating that the crash fatality rates haven’t changed significantly. These seemingly contradictory findings leave one marijuana reformer confused but certain that the sky isn’t falling.
Members of the Justice Department’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety have been ordered to “undertake a review of existing policies” regarding federal marijuana law enforcement, among other things. Their report is due on or before July 27, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws believes the document may use as its template a list by a fellow at the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation of eleven ways the administration of President Donald Trump can shut down legal cannabis.
Dear Stoner: A friend suggested trying a strain that has equal amounts of THC and CBD. Any suggestions for something in Denver that fills the bill?
Nomen
The City of Denver appears to be continuing its public-relations battle against the Denver 420 Rally, which is appealing a three-year permit ban, by contrasting the trashy condition of Civic Center Park the morning after the April 20 event with the much tidier look of the location following this past weekend’s PrideFest celebration. Meanwhile, an attorney for the rally charges Denver with using a double standard by pointing out that a dispensary was allowed to display its logo at PrideFest, as seen in a video below, even though such businesses have been forbidden to do so at the Denver 420 Rally.
PrideFest is certainly doing all it can to show that it appreciates its own permit with the city. Pushkin Public Relations, which represents the fest, shared the June 19 photo at the top of this post along with a note that reads in part, “PrideFest takes a lot of pride in being a professional festival, working well with the City and leaving the park in great shape. While some festivals don’t have a great reputation for this, PrideFest works hard be a good steward of Civic Center Park.”
Barak Rigbi brings the Vie vaporizer up to his lips, draws in a breath and, in his deep Israeli accent, explains: “This is my world. For the past two and a half years, my world has been around this. We want one thing. For this to be enjoyable and satisfying.”
The Vie was developed in Denver, where for almost three years Rigbi has worked on a vaporizer that smokes flower and concentrates, and can be sold for a reasonable price. “Let’s start a revolution,” promises the company’s website
It’s easy to buy pot in Colorado –– but not that easy. Federal law still prohibits mailing marijuana, and that was one of the red flags when two online marijuana retailers claiming to mail their products to purchasers were reported as scams to the Better Business Bureau of Denver.
You could get marijuana delivered to your home in L.A. since at least the days of Cheech & Chong. But, despite California’s legalization of medical cannabis in 1996, the essential activity of having someone bring it to you has been pretty much illegal in the city of Los Angeles.
The app-based delivery service Speed Weed learned that the hard way last year when the City Attorney’s Office announced the firm would cease to exist within our borders. Of course, that hasn’t stopped other tech-based companies from keeping delivery alive in L.A. And now, ironically, state and city officials have revealed proposed regulations for medical pot that would legalize delivery, particularly the kind allegedly practiced by Speed Weed.
Loose-ends legislation from Gov. Jerry Brown’s office proposes that delivery be allowed so long as the driver is connected with a licensed brick-and-mortar dispensary. That dispensary wouldn’t have to be a storefront; it could exist simply to serve delivery customers.
With all due respect to Stranahan’s and Leopold Bros., Colorado isn’t really known for its hard liquor. Craft beer, mountains and marijuana rule this land. Even our moonshine is a product of basements and warehouses, not backyard distilleries. In the Rockies, nothing says you’re not in Appalachia like a joint of Moonshine Haze.
Moonshine Haze blew up in 2011, winning best sativa in the High Times Cannabis Cup and bringing Colorado breeder Rare Dankness to national prominence. After acquiring an Afghani-heavy cut of Amnesia Haze, Rare Dankness crossed it with sativa Nevil’s Wreck for a confident, cloudy high. This Moonshine is stiffer than most, easily reaching THC levels of 22 to 27 percent. It doesn’t have the herbal spice most Hazes are known for, instead pushing out sour, intense aromas and tastes of berries and pine with hints of bubblegum.