Medical Marijuana: IndyBlog, Colorado Springs Independent

THC-DUI bill on its way to passage

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:04:00 -0600

In this week's CannaBiz column, we wrote that House Bill 1114 — the effort to limit the amount of THC allowed in a Colorado driver's blood to 5 nanograms per milliliter — had passed out of committee and would likely see the full House before the end of the week.

As luck would have it, the full House gave the bill its first consideration yesterday, reported the Denver Post, and it seems like making it to the Senate for final consideration won't be a problem.…

'Speechless' politicians reportedly losing faith in marijuana regulators

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:42:00 -0600

Coming on the heels of an audit that showed major inefficiencies and incompetencies at the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, a part of the Colorado Department of Revenue, state legislators are seriously doubting the MMED's ability to also regulate recreational marijuana.

From John Ingold, at the Denver Post:

After [Rep. Brian] DelGrosso's comments Thursday, committee chair Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, abruptly called a recess, and committee members moved to an adjacent room to vent their frustrations.…
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Report finds major flaws in state's MMJ enforcement

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:02:00 -0600

The Colorado Office of the State Auditor, a state agency responsibly for checking facets of government, today released the first of two reports that shows the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division has failed to fully implement its mission to regulate and enforce in a variety of ways.

"The Division has not adequately defined the oversight activities it must perform," the report concluded, "or determined the resources it need to implement the regulatory system envisioned by the General Assembly to oversee Colorado's emerging medical marijuana industry."

In a press release, the Medical Marijuana Industry Group says the state needs to do as good a job with compliance as the business owners it sometimes hammers on.…

Baking edibles: California vs. Colorado

Edie Adelstein — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:23:52 -0700

On Friday, BuzzFeed (your favorite work time-waster and mine) posted an article with an anonymous edibles baker in California, complete with a lovely spread of photos of the baker at work.

Author Emily Fleischaker followed the owner of Ruby Doobies, who works out of Los Angeles.…

UPDATE: Rocky Mountain Kyngz and the Amendment 64 anthem

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:05:21 -0700

The other day we got an e-mail letting us know the video was ready. Strap on your YouTube glasses, and fire it up.…

Learn more about Amendment 64

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:38:04 -0700

This upcoming Tuesday Raul Perez and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy are hosting an informational session on the effects of Amendment 64 "and what we as citizens can expect," reads an e-mail from Perez. "Learn about the personal protections, the retail and taxing process, and the incredible importance of Hemp.…

California dispensary owner sentenced to 10 years

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:06:53 -0700

The Contra Costa Times is reporting that yesterday Aaron Sandusky, a 42-year-old former dispensary owner, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to manufacture marijuana; possession with intent to distribute; and conspiring to operate a drug-related premises.

Sandusky faced as much as life in prison, but U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson gave him the minimum sentence possible under federal guidelines.…
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Breaking: Crouse sues city over destroyed marijuana

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:16:04 -0700

Just when you think the saga of leukemia sufferer (and medical marijuana patient) Bob Crouse has ended, it pulls you back in. Finally able to return to normalcy after winning his protracted trial with the help of the public defender's office, and then winning the return of his marijuana, seized as evidence, with the pro-bono help of attorney Clifton Black, Crouse is confronting a final hurdle: repayment.…

THC-DUI bill back for the third time; pot clubs debut

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:52:08 -0700

• In Wednesday's Independent we've got an interview with Colorado Springs Rep. Mark Waller on what's coming up for the third attempt at passing legislation that codifies how much THC can be in the blood of Colorado's drivers. In the meantime, though, the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction has a pretty good look at what's happening.…

CSPD instructed on how to handle marijuana

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:10:00 -0700

Today, we received a copy of the notice Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey distributed to patrol officers around the middle of December. There's nothing ground-breaking here, but it's nice to know how the results of the passage of Amendment 64 are being looked at internally.…

Hickenlooper signs Amendment 64 proclamation legalizing marijuana

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:05:20 -0700

Today's the day you'll cite when you tell your kids where you were when Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a "declaration [that] formalizes the amendment as part of the state Constitution and makes legal the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana under Colorado law for adults 21 years of age and older."

"Voters were loud and clear on Election Day," the governor wrote on his Facebook page. "We will begin working immediately with the General Assembly and state agencies to implement Amendment 64."

So, hey, voters in Colorado (and Washington) finally did themselves what no majority of legislators has had the political courage to attempt: ending prohibition of marijuana.…

Poll says even larger majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:26:11 -0700

A release from the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, says that a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 shows that 58 percent of respondents agree that marijuana should be legal, an increase from the former high of half. Also, 50 percent said they think the federal government will legalize the substance in the next 10 years, and 4 -percent said they think President Barack Obama should not interfere in recent laws passed here and in Washington state.…

Marijuana: Reductions in prosecutions coming; more called for

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:35:03 -0700

Yesterday the folks behind Amendment 64, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, issued a press release "calling on Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and other Colorado prosecutors to follow the will of the voters by no longer filing cases of adult marijuana possession and dismissing all pending cases in which the sole charge is possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by an adult 21 or older."

The campaign's call is inspired by actions out of Washington, where voters passed a similar measure and King and Pierce county prosecutors are dismissing over 220 marijuana-related cases.

Here's the Seattle Times: "In King County, 175 cases are being dismissed involving people 21 and older and possession of one ounce or less.…

Marijuana: Hickenlooper's serious about snack food

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:38:39 -0700

Gov. John Hickenlooper's now-infamous comment, made in the wake of the passage of Amendment 64, that partakers shouldn't "break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly" has taken on a life of its own. Besides being repeated in almost every media that's covered the Colorado outcome, it's led to a few real-life instances of snack activism.…

KILO talks marijuana and Amendment 64

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:08:59 -0700

The other day, legendary local disc jockey Jack Mehoff, with KILO 94.3, spoke with Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol co-director Brian Vicente. The 12-minute conversation ranged across the many questions the passage of Amendment 64 has raised, so give it a listen for a nice overall understanding.…

Marijuana: They're moving to Colorado Springs

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:55:29 -0700

Sure, there's been constant jokes about folks moving to Colorado (like in this comment) thanks to the passage of Amendment 64, but where are they going to live? Here's a few tweets from folks talking about making their new home in Colorado Springs.…

Local MMJ centers being barraged with calls

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:05:43 -0700

The passage of Amendment 64 has sent interested parties into search mode for how to obtain the now legal-ish substance. The only problem is, says Tanya Garduno, they've been calling exactly the wrong place: medical-marijuana centers.…

Your final plea for votes in support of Amendment 64

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:34:53 -0700

Though it seems like it's coming out late, considering some of the people in it mention voting "this Tuesday," the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has nonetheless today released what is likely its final salvo in this campaign season, a video called "This Is Our Moment."

It's a lovely, three-minute bit featuring light piano and text of statistics interspersed with regular folks talking about being on the right side of history and the like. Give it a look, and don't forget: As long as you're in line before 7 p.m., you'll soon be a-votin'.…

Medical marijuana: political meet and greet

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:57:20 -0600

Tonight at 7, the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council will be hosting a live interrogation of several political candidates, all for your voting (and viewing) pleasure. Actually, the aforementioned will be more like a pleasurable mixer at the Warehouse Restaurant and Gallery, but the "questions" part still stands.…

Marijuana: Information on disproportionate arrests, and voting recommendations

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:05:26 -0600

Because nobody can get enough of either these electoral days, here are some bits dealing with marijuana and the coming election.

• First, the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, a national research organization, yesterday released a report saying that between 1986 and 2010, roughly 210,000 Coloradans were arrested for marijuana possession, with more than half of those coming in the last 10 years.…

Another marijuana debate tonight

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:20:18 -0600

Tonight brings the second local debate over the coming marijuana question, Amendment 64. Hosted by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy, it will be held in the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs' Upper Lodge at 6 p.m.…

New pro-marijuana group forms after PTSD denial

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:54:08 -0600

We've left a message with a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for confirmation, but in the meantime it seems a second petition to have post-traumatic stress disorder added to the state's list of conditions considered treatable with medical marijuana has, essentially, been denied.

"In order to approve the petition, the Heath Department must schedule a Public Hearing in front of the Board of Health within 120 days," reads a press release from Brian Vicente, Sensible Colorado and the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.…

Marijuana enforcement director comes to town

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:08:08 -0600

Laura Harris, director of the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, will attend ~~Thursday~~ Wednesday night's mixer from the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council. The festivities kick off at 7 at the Warehouse Restaurant and Gallery, and entry is $10.…

Third wave concludes with 10 MMJ centers closing

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:50:21 -0600

Yesterday, a press release from the Colorado U.S. Attorney's office said that all 10 medical-marijuana centers that were notified in the most recent wave of closure letters have closed as requested.

"The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA will continue this initiative until all marijuana stores within 1,000 feet of a school are closed," reads the release.…

Marijuana campaign calls governor's statement 'hypocritical'

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:04:33 -0600

After Gov. John Hickenlooper's statement saying he couldn't support the decriminalization of marijuana in Colorado (via Amendment 64) because it "has the potential to increase the number of children using drugs and would detract from efforts to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation," the campaign behind it struck back.

"Governor Hickenlooper's statement today ranks as one of the most hypocritical statements in the history of politics," reads a release from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which wasted no time in bringing up the governor's brewpub-building past.…