Officials at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado announced last week that the college will offer a minor in psychedelics studies to prepare students for careers related to the class of drugs, which show great therapeutic potential. The new program, which is slated to launch in the fall, is designed to give students a humanities and social science approach to studying psychedelics.

The new minor was created for students who wish to study the historical and current applications of psychedelics and other natural medicines. The program will also explore the growing field of psychedelic therapy, which has the potential to treat a number of serious mental health issues including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and substance misuse disorders. 

The Bachelor of Arts minor in Psychedelics Studies entails a total of 12 course credits earned from classes such as Herbal Medicine and Theories of Psychedelic Assisted Therapies. In addition to exploring the clinical applications of psychedelic medicines, the curriculum “emphasizes religious and ceremonial contexts, cultural practices, policy implications and healing justice frameworks,” the university explained last week.

“Psychedelic minor graduates will be well prepared for a career in psychedelic-assisted therapy, with both Naropa University’s rigorous academic education and our singularly unique contemplative pedagogy woven throughout the curriculum,” Naropa University president Charles G. Lief, J.D. said in a statement about the new program. “Naropa is a higher education leader when it comes to incorporating justice, equity, anti-oppression, and understanding lineage and indigenous community relationships with plant medicines.” 

Naropa University was founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The institution’s name and inspiration are derived from the teachings of the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa. The university is internationally known for its unique educational program, which integrates Eastern knowledge and traditions with traditional Western scholarly pursuits.

“This minor will integrate well with the range of undergraduate majors offered at Naropa including Psychology, Interdisciplinary Studies, Art Therapy, Religious Studies, Creative Writing and Literature, Yoga Studies or Visual Arts,” Lief added. “Several of these majors have an online option, making the new minor very accessible to students in North America and beyond.”

New Opportunites for Careers in Psychedelics Therapy

The new minor in Psychedelics Studies will serve as a foundational curriculum for undergraduate students to learn and apply the mindfulness and compassion skills that are key to successful psychedelic therapy. Scholarships are available to support equitable access for students with fewer economic resources to increase opportunities for those who may be from marginalized communities or underserved geographic locations in order to create a more diverse field of practitioners.

“The emerging field of legal psychedelic-assisted therapy will require trained facilitators to meet the demand for these services,” said Joseph Harrison, M.S., executive director of the Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies (NCPS). “Naropa’s psychedelic studies minor will provide primary education for students interested in working in this emerging field. We are creating a pathway for students that begins with the BA Psychedelic Studies Minor. Serious students can further their learning through Naropa’s Graduate School of Counseling Psychology and then our postgraduate training programs to become licensed practitioners in states such as Colorado and Oregon.”

Clinical research and other studies into psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin and MDMA have shown that the drugs have potential therapeutic benefits, particularly for serious mental health conditions such as depression, PTSD, substance misuse disorders and anxiety. Early last year, a California biopharmaceutical company announced positive results from a clinical trial testing MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Research published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry in 2020 found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was an effective and quick-acting treatment for a group of 24 participants with major depressive disorder. A separate study published in 2016 determined that psilocybin treatment produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects that the Food and Drug Administration will eventually approve MDMA and psilocybin mental health treatments, according to a letter from the department in May 2022. In 2017, the FDA granted MDMA-assisted therapy Breakthrough Therapy designation, indicating that the therapy is a significant improvement over existing treatments. Last month, the agency took similar action with an LSD drug that is being studied as a treatment for anxiety.

“The minor in psychedelic studies integrates existing contemplative coursework across diverse disciplines with the latest scholarship on psychedelic studies,” said Betsy Gonzalez Blohm, dean of Naropa College and the Graduate Collective. “Contemplative pedagogy centering diverse perspectives to support inner and outer transformation is core to Naropa’s mission, and offering academic study about the history, policy and current research on psychedelics supported by our unique approach to education is an extension of that mission.”

Since states across the country first began legalizing cannabis, the ability for cannabis-related businesses to advertise on social media — or even mention or show cannabis products — has remained a contentious issue. 

Many platforms will quickly remove cannabis business accounts once they catch wind of their content, leaving professionals with limited access to their audience and ultimately having to jump through hurdles like self-censorship to maintain their accounts. Some have also questioned if the consistent censorship surrounding cannabis and other drug content may lead to gaps in education or information encouraging harm reduction.

Despite these concerns, there remains a prevailing push to ensure children are not exposed to cannabis marketing and that reform as a whole does not encourage use among people under the legal age.

Colorado is currently caught in the middle of this push and pull, as lawmakers are working to advance legislation that would force social media platforms to ban users for talking positively about, promoting or advertising cannabis and cannabis products online, along with other regulated drugs and substances.

Colorado’s Polarizing Content-Regulation Bill

The bill, SB24-158, is currently facing criticism from multiple angles. 

The legislation was recently amended to include language saying that “a social media platform may allow a user to promote, sell, or advertise medical marijuana or retail marijuana to users who are at least twenty-one years of age,” so long as the content is in compliance with state cannabis laws, Marijuana Moment reports. 

Members of the Senate Committee on Business, Labor and Technology ultimately approved the amended bill unanimously, advancing it to the Appropriations Committee.

Still, some critics argue that the revised legislation does not adequately address concerns around other substances, like psilocybin — which Colorado voters decriminalized and legalized for therapeutic use in 2022 — alongside hemp-derived products or over-the-counter cough syrups.

As it stands currently, the bill would restrict promotion of hemp-derived products with more than 1.25 mg of THC or a CBD-to-THC ratio of less than 20:1. Most other hemp-containing products meant for human consumption that are not a dietary supplement, food, food additive or herb would also be restricted.

R Street Institute’s Shoshana Weismann called out some of the issues in the bill’s initial language, stating that it has some “potentially disastrous quirks.” Speaking with Marijuana Moment, Weismann referenced that the updated bill would prevent social media users from promoting substances like Nyquil or anti-anxiety medications.

“And if you promote those medications, you will be reported to law enforcement,” Weismann told the publication via email. “That is asinine.”

So what about the cannabis exemption for those over 21? Does allowing companies to advertise specifically to those of legal age act as a proper workaround?

The bill states that social media companies must “use a commercially reasonable process to verify each user’s age” and “retain any information obtained for age verification purposes only for the purpose of compliance and for no other purpose and to dispose of such information securely after age verification is complete.”

In a recent blog post, Weismann notes that this process is not only expensive for businesses but also would require Colorado social media users to upload sensitive information to any given social media site they use. 

“Although the bill requires platforms to dispose of this information once a user’s age is verified, the rule does not apply to third-party verifiers — rendering enforcement against them nearly impossible. Further, it doesn’t stop nefarious actors who would seek to hack such valuable information,” Weismann writes. 

The bill mandates companies to retain “any data and metadata concerning users’ identities and activities” for one year, and Weismann argues that this only makes data more enticing and accessible for hackers. 

Noting the potential First Amendment and free speech violations of the bill, Weismann also references the bill’s language prohibiting social media companies from alerting users “to the fact that a law enforcement agency is investigating the user’s activity and account,” arguing that this violates Fourth Amendment principles.

“This means that if someone is unaware the government is investigating them due to what is, in effect, a legislatively mandated gag order, they cannot fight government actions or exercise their rights,” Weismann states. “While these orders may be necessary in certain cases, it shouldn’t be an across-the-board call.”

Unanswered Questions and Uncertain Outcomes

There are a number of other potential scenarios the legislation could affect that lawmakers must still answer to. 

For example, it’s still unclear as to whether a medical patient posting about their cannabis use to social media would be banned under the legislation. Even someone posting that an over-the-counter cough syrup helped them to feel better, or Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) recent touting of the state’s emerging psychedelic industry as a positive and beneficial move, could potentially be banned under the language of the bill. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen (D) told Marijuana Moment last month that he was “working on answers” to these questions.

Should the legislation pass, social media companies would need to update their policies and publicly post them on or before July 1, 2025. Companies would also need to submit annual reports to the state attorney general to confirm “whether the current version of the published policies contain definitions and provisions relating to illicit substances.”

A majority of cannabis flower products purchased at licensed retail pot shops in Colorado contained less THC than indicated on the label, according to a study performed by a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. The study showed that THC levels indicated on the label of approximately 70% of products tested were at least 15% higher than those reported by a third-party lab after purchase.

The research was conducted by Anna Schwabe, an associate lecture professor of modern cannabis science at the University of Colorado Boulder. To complete the study, Scwabe collected 23 cannabis flower samples from 10 licensed dispensaries located across the northern Colorado Front Range, which includes the cities of Denver, Fort Collins and Garden City. 

The samples represented 12 different cannabis strains including sativas, indicas and hybrids, with different THC potency levels reported on the product packaging. Some THC potency levels were reported as a range from 12.8%-19.3% on the lower end and 28.07%-31.28% on the higher limit, while others were reported as a single value such as 16.4% or 17.4%.

After the samples were collected, they were sent to an independent laboratory for analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which separates, identifies and quantifies the different chemical compounds contained in a mixture. HPLC is the most commonly used method in cannabis testing to determine cannabis potency and detect contaminants, making it an important tool to ensure consumers that products have been tested for safety, purity and potency.

A comparison of lab testing results revealed that approximately 70% of the samples had reported THC levels that were at least 15% higher than the levels determined by the independent laboratory.

“Among the 23 flower samples analyzed, 18 displayed lower THC levels than reported – with 16 falling below 15% of the stated value, 13 falling below 30% of the reported THC and three samples falling below half of the reported THC,” Schwabe wrote in a report about the research published by nonprofit news source The Conversation

Four of the samples were within the range indicated on the label, while only one product contained more THC than the potency level reported on the packaging. 

Schwabe noted that the lower THC values determined through independent lab testing were not due to degradation, adding that THC can degrade to the cannabinoid CBN (cannabinol) over time. However, CBN was not detected in measurable amounts in the samples, and additional testing showed that THC levels were stable over time.

The research also revealed a significant increase in cannabis potency over the last 15 years, a period that includes the 2014 legalization of recreational cannabis in Colorado.

“THC levels averaged 9.75% back in 2009, based on testing of DEA-seized cannabis flower. Today, levels reportedly surpass 35%, though they’re not as common as consumers have been led to believe,” Schwabe wrote in her report. “DEA-seized cannabis flower averaged 13.88% in 2019, which is closer to my observed mean of 14.98% than the reported mean of my samples, which was 20.27%-24.10%.”

The research did not determine who is responsible for the misinformation found in reported cannabis potency levels. Cannabis cultivators or dispensaries could be selecting the best flowers to submit for laboratory testing. Although regulations require tests to be performed on a random sample of a batch of cannabis flowers, oversight to enforce the guidelines is lacking.

The inaccuracy in cannabis potency labeling could also be the result of fraud. Cannabis testing labs could be manipulating the testing process or doctoring the numbers indicated on certificates of analysis to ensure repeat business or gain new clients, the author of the study noted.

Schwabe noted that accurate lab testing of cannabis potency is important for medical marijuana patients who may want to carefully control their dose of THC. Proper potency testing is also significant for consumers who purchase recreational weed because companies can charge higher prices for cannabis with high levels of THC.

Schwabe, who is also a board member for the nonprofit Agricultural Genomics Foundation, said that the cannabis industry should focus on educating “consumers on how to make more informed choices by looking beyond mere THC percentages.” 

“People generally do not shop for wine or beer based on alcohol content,” the researcher wrote. “Instead of focusing on THC content, a novice cannabis consumer might consider brands that are reputable or strains that have an aroma or flavor profile they enjoy. Eventually, they may move on to find a favorite breeder or grower, or a trusted dispensary that employs a knowledgeable budtender.”

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 34-year-old nonprofit research and educational organization “that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana,” announced in a press release on Monday that it “has partnered with the City and County of Denver to provide comprehensive training on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention to the city’s first responders.” 

The Psychedelic Crisis Assessment and Intervention training was “commissioned by the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel (DPMPRP), a first-of-its-kind panel that was formed after the passage of Ordinance 301 in May 2019, which effectively decriminalized the personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms in Denver,” MAPS said in a statement. 

Per the press release, the training will cover topics including: “The history, usage, psychological and physiological response, and potential adverse effects of psilocybin ingestion”; “The legal considerations and implications of decriminalization and the role of first responders”; “The standards and protocols for effective psilocybin or psychedelic-related crisis response planning, training, and deployment”; and “The best practices and techniques for assessing, de-escalating, and managing psychedelic crises.”

According to the local publication Westworld,  the training program “became even more important in 2022, when Colorado became the second state (after Oregon) to legalize medical psilocybin use and the first state to decriminalize specific psychedelics, including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.”

“Created as part of the 2019 voter initiative decriminalizing psilocybin, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel took a brief hiatus in 2023 after Prop 122 passed,” Westworld reported this week. “But the panel is meeting again and is expected to take a leading position in Denver’s approach to its medical psilocybin rules.”

After Prop 122 passed in 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the measure into law last year. The law directs “the department of revenue [to create] the natural medicine division for the purpose of regulating and licensing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees.”

The measure requires the natural medicine division to: “Regulate natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including healing centers, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers, and issue licenses for such businesses; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses; and Perform duties necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including investigatory and disciplinary authority.”

Kevin Matthews, former President of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, celebrated the launch of the training program.

“I’m proud of my hometown for stepping into a national leadership role with this training. It represents a giant leap forward for public health and safety with psilocybin and natural medicines in Denver and is a perfect example of what cities can do to better integrate emerging psychedelic policies into their existing infrastructures. I’m looking forward to the city continuing its collaboration with MAPS to monitor outcomes and educate Denver residents on this exciting new issue,” Matthews said in a statement.

Sara Gael, a former MAPS Harm Reduction Officer, said the group is “honored and excited to collaborate with the City and County of Denver to provide this groundbreaking training program on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention.”

“We believe that this program will equip first responders with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle psilocybin and psychedelic related crises in a safe and compassionate manner and ultimately improve the health and well-being of the community. This program is also a testament to the progressive and visionary leadership of Denver, which has taken a bold step to decriminalize psilocybin and create a model for other cities to follow,” Gael said.

MAPS said in the press release on Monday that its “training aims to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of first responders to quickly recognize and effectively respond to emotional and behavioral crisis incidents involving psilocybin and other psychedelics.” The group also said that the “Denver Harm Reduction training initiative has been well received by the City of Denver leadership, who recognize the importance and value of providing first responders with the necessary tools and skills to handle psychedelic-related crises in a safe and compassionate manner.”

“The program also seeks to enhance responder safety and reduce risk and liability in situations where individuals are experiencing a psychedelic-induced crisis,” the group explained. “After three years, a team of over 20 MAPS and subcontracted professionals with backgrounds in law, medicine, psychiatry, mental health, neuropsychopharmacology, law enforcement, crisis response, quality improvement, and education developed the curriculum. The final training is customized for law enforcement, mental health, and emergency medical service personnel and will be delivered through asynchronous videos and corresponding assessments.”

Legal or not, people are experimenting with psychedelics, and they might as well be informed about their decisions in a logical manner, making situations safer. Colorado-based Unlimited Sciences, a psychedelic research nonprofit, unveiled the Psychedelic Info Line, a hotline that provides callers with data-driven education and informed resources for individuals considering exploring psychedelics.

The core goal of the info line is to improve outcomes and reduce harm by offering the needed tools and information on natural psychedelics. The information provided isn’t just anecdotal evidence based on hearsay. Psychedelic Info Line navigators share knowledge from an extensive research library of peer-reviewed studies with data sourced from thousands of participants worldwide, including the world’s largest naturalistic psilocybin study sponsored and conducted by Unlimited Sciences. 

Organizers say it provides a critical resource that no other organization provides. It offers informed answers to help people with their inquiries and make decisions before psychedelic use.

“The Psychedelic Info Line represents the culmination of years of high-impact research and dedication to advancing our understanding of psychedelics,” said Matthew X. Lowe, PhD, Executive Director at Unlimited Sciences. “We hope the first one-on-one education line of this nature will have a positive impact in helping individuals make more informed decisions about safely using psychedelics.”

In the past, the Cannabis Support Hotline was launched and provided by Unlimited Sciences’ parent nonprofit, Realm of Caring. The Psychedelic Info Line’s education specialists will not provide medical advice or encourage psychedelic consumption, rather they will foster a compassionate and supportive environment, striving to make every caller feel more capable in their quest for healing and self-discovery. Committed to community empowerment and safety, the Psychedelic Info Line is dedicated to educating and empowering the psychedelic community to navigate their journeys safely and responsibly.

“We know psychedelics can be safe and deeply meaningful when those seeking to use them are well-informed and approach them with care. Providing a compassionate source of knowledge for people exploring psychedelics for healing and personal growth is our mission,” said Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD, Director of Education at Unlimited Sciences. “By helping to distill and distribute evidence-based information, we give callers the knowledge and power to make informed and responsible decisions with their healthcare providers.”

The Psychedelic Info Line is sponsored with support from The Wana Brands Foundation. Individuals who use the line and register through the Unlimited Sciences’ Client Portal receive access to exclusive educational resources including detailed guides on psychedelics, FAQs, and an extensive open-access research library. 

People are encouraged to call toll-free 1 (888) 210-3553 (Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. MST or email.

Set and Setting Matter in Psychedelic Trips

Researchers are examining ways to avoid bad trips. Negative experiences with psychedelics were linked to stressful environments, a September 2023 study suggests.

A study by researchers associated with Imperial College London indicated that stressful environments and other risk factors were associated with negative experiences with psychedelics, reaffirming the notion that “set and setting” play significant roles in positive experiences with psychedelic drugs. The study, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, gives new insight into the potential negative outcomes of using psychedelics in a clinical setting to treat serious mental health conditions.

Study author Rebecka Bremler of Imperial College London’s Centre for Psychedelic Research told PsyPost that there was “a lack of research into this topic—at least when we started the project in 2021. There was (is) all of this amazing research on psychedelics’ positive effects on mental health, and some on acute challenging experiences (‘bad trips’) with psychedelics and what may contribute to them, but not so much on long-term negative psychological responses (which is what we focused on here).”

“We wanted to find what may be potential risk factors for having these experiences, but also for people who had had them to be heard,” Bremler added. “The latter was one of the reasons why we included extended participants’ quotes in the article: to tell it in their own words as much as possible.”

In the event of a bad psychedelic trip, you may be better off riding it through than taking additional drugs to extinguish the trip—which can actually be more dangerous. A recent study points out that psychonauts online are turning to benzodiazepines and other potentially dangerous drugs to end a psychedelic trip.

Doctors are warning about so-called “trip-killers,” or drugs used to counteract the effects of a psychedelic trip. What they found is that over half of anecdotal recommendations online call for benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, alcohol, and other remedies, but found that trip-killers are often more dangerous than the psychedelics themselves. 

The study, “Trip-killers: a concerning practice associated with psychedelic drug use,” was published in Emergency Medicine Journal on Dec. 19, 2023. It was announced in a news release the same day.

Things like the aforementioned practices could be avoided if people have someone to talk to before choosing to experiment with psychedelics.

A report from Westword pointed out that the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) has recently begun to feature information regarding a few cannabis businesses on its website.

Westword spoke with licensed cannabis party bus business owner, Sarah Woodson, confirming that the CTO contacted her last year about her The Cannabis Experience. According to CBS News, her business was the nation’s first licensed cannabis consumption bus as of February 2023.

The CTO website features some of Colorado’s best places to visit and check out, from snow-related activities, white water rafting, hot springs, dining recommendations, and an updated calendar of events on the front page. As of Feb. 5, the front page doesn’t showcase any cannabis-related businesses or activities.

A quick search yields just a few cannabis-related business profiles, which includes both The Cannabis Experience, Colorado Cannabis Tours, Speak Easy Vape Lounge & Cannabis Club, Ambers Alchemy, and a 420 friendly Bed and Breakfast called Arrowhead Manor. It also includes various advice articles about disposing of cannabis when leaving the state, tips for safe consumption, and more, in addition to a few older search results where the landing pages do not work or have been removed. The profiles don’t feature a date of publishing, so it’s unclear how long they’ve been up on the website.

Westword points out that Speak Easy Vape Lounge & Cannabis Club opened with a temporary local permit that expired this year and is now closed. Arrowhead Manor does not hold a hospitality license, so it must conduct business as a private venue.

As of July 2023, the CTO announced that in 2022, the state collected $27.7 billion in travel spending within the state from approximately 90 million tourists. This annual spending was a $5.6 billion increase, or 25% increase from revenue generated in 2021 ($22.1 billion), with an additional 5.8 million visitors more than those who visited in 2021. The press release included a variety of other facts and data regarding its growing tourism industry, which was shared from the Colorado Travel Impacts 2022 (Dean Runyan Associates) and Colorado Travel Year Report 2022 (Longwoods International). Neither of these reports mentioned cannabis.

The CTO is a division under the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), that is managed by the Colorado Tourism Board, which includes 11 people appointed by both the governor and four Colorado legislators. As a government-run agency, cannabis-related hospitality opportunities and events might be tricky to advertise. Currently, public cannabis consumption is illegal, so tourists seeking legal cannabis-friendly tourism must do their own research to find private businesses that cater to that interest.

One of the people who was formerly on the CTO board of directors, cannabis dispensary owner Wanda James, stated that the CTO began allowing certain cannabis businesses to advertise on the Colorado tourism website after a state hospitality law (which was passed in 2019) took effect on Jan. 1, 2020. James added that progress on including cannabis on the website decreased after former director Cathy Ritter was let go by OEDIT.

Advertising a business on the Colorado tourism website is free, but interested business owners must apply on the website. “To get a free listing on Colorado.com, start by filling out the form below. Note: To appear on Colorado.com, listings must be tourism related and have a physical address in Colorado,” the application form states. Toward the bottom, it requires a short description of the business, “so that we can verify you are part of the tourism industry.”

Westword obtained a statement from CTO spokesperson Hayes Norris, who explained that The Cannabis Experience is very much a welcome part of the industry worth advertising. “The Cannabis Experience is a great example of that, as they offer a range of immersive cannabis tours and experiences,” said Norris.”…there have not been any formal changes to colorado.com business rules regarding licensed hospitality businesses and cannabis.”

While the CTO is not yet ready to begin the task of featuring more cannabis-themed venues and activities, organizations such as the Cannabis Travel Association International are more focused on putting the spotlight on cannabis-friendly destinations both in the U.S. and other international locations as well.

While Colorado was the first to implement recreational cannabis legalization back in 2014, many other states are building up their cannabis consumption laws and business as well. In New Jersey, cannabis consumption lounges were only recently approved by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) last month. “New Jersey’s cannabis industry is well on its way to being a billion-dollar industry, and consumption areas will likely bolster that—fostering a communal experience for those 21 and older around cannabis in a regulated and secure space,” said CRC executive director Jeff Brown.

In Nevada, the most batch of consumption lounge licenses was issued in November 2023, while a number of other license holders are eyeing 2024 for the year they hope they’ll satisfy all of the requirements to open. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based Planet 13 announced in November last year that it was eyeing an April 2024 opening, and in December 2023 it confirmed that the consumption lounge would also share a space with the Las Vegas SuperStore to Koolsville Tattoo Shop.

Is a town in Colorado the first to become a cannabis ghost town? Westword’s Thomas Mitchell reported that the green rush of cannabis business licenses in Colorado left the town of Ordway a “ghost town,” filled with vacant growing operations.

Hasn’t this happened before? Out of the hope of profitable veins of gold sprung boomtowns during the California Gold Rush, a mid-19th century rush of people seeking a fortune from gold. Bodie, California, for instance, soared to over 8,000 people looking for gold until its resources were exhausted. It happened in Colorado, too. Cripple Creek, Colorado soared to over 55,000 people looking for the same. Once the gold resources were drained, people more or less abandoned them, leaving ghost towns.

There’s a new boomtown phenomenon happening right now: cannabis.

Ordway—only a few years ago—was a cannabis boomtown. The town is about 50 miles east of Pueblo in Crowley County, with a population of around 1,000 people. Ordway had 56 active growing facilities at its peak, Westword reports, and around seventy grow operations there were registered with the state Marijuana Enforcement Division by the end of 2022. But recently, there are only about 20 left, according to local licensing officials.

Most of these grow operations weren’t able to survive 2023: From December 2022 to December 2023, the number of adult-use cannabis grow operations saw a 30% drop in the state’s cannabis workforce and a major decline in dispensary sales since pandemic restrictions ended.

Bubba’s Kush Cultivation is a small batch craft cultivator, based in Ordway, focused on providing a clean, consistent, quality product. The team behind Bubba’s Kush is concerned about the future of growing in Ordway.

“I’ve seen equipment left out in fields by people who couldn’t figure it out, and entire crops left to dry outside. No one has to worry about it being stolen. There’s barely anyone here—and what is it really worth, anyway?” cannabis cultivation Bubba’s Kush founder Chris Kaiser asked Westword.

Kaiser said he can throw a rock from his parking lot and hit one of a half-dozen failed cultivations. “That one’s closed. That one’s closed. That one’s closed,” he said. “A lot of people have just up and left. One guy is asking for $1.3 million. Ha—good luck with that.”

He said cannabis operators were promised endless potential for profit in the cannabis industry, but that’s not what ended up happening.

“Even if you’re still open, you’re struggling. Being a cannabis grower was never all it was cracked up to be, but this is getting out of control,” he says. “I guess this is what it takes if you want to win. It’s a tough scene, and I don’t think it’s going to get any easier.”

The price of wholesale cannabis reached record-low prices in Colorado, according to the state Department of Revenue, falling over 56% on average since Bubba Kush’s first harvest in 2021.

Local cannabis activist Mason Tvert admitted not everyone is cut out to survive in the cannabis industry, especially during the past few years.

“It’s been a unique period of time for all businesses, especially cannabis businesses,” Tvert told Westword. “Inflation, COVID-19 and staffing have all created real issues, so I’m not terribly surprised with how it’s played out. Anyone who’s looking at this industry should be wary of the potential for dramatic changes. With something this new and varied around the country, there are a lot of people who just want to open a marijuana store because it’s exciting, fun or unique. As people were doing that, though, we sort of realized that ten years from now they would be owning a liquor store, but with more rules.”

Decline in Colorado Cannabis Sales

The state has undergone a tough period over the past several years. In 2022, High Times reported on the decline in sales.

Sales of both medical and recreational cannabis in Colorado plummeted in June 2022 compared to the previous year, the state’s Department of Revenue reported, an alarming decline that industry officials attribute to a variety of reasons.

Medical cannabis sales totaled $19,235,656 in June—down from $34,534,293 in June 2021. Recreational pot sales, meanwhile, generated $127,157,358 in June—down from $152,719,813 in June 2021.

Colorado cannabis sales continued a downward trend in November 2023 as adult-use and medical cannabis retail locations generated $110.5 million in revenue, the lowest monthly total since February 2017.

Adult-use sales fell to $95.8 million, down around 16% year-over-year, according to data recently released by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Medical cannabis sales in November dropped to $14.5 million, down about 11.5% year-over-year. November marked the fourth consecutive month of a decline in sales in Colorado’s cannabis market, suggesting that the state is headed for its second consecutive year of significant declines in pot sales.

Colorado’s 2023 cannabis sales are on track to reach about $1.5 billion, which would be down nearly 13% from 2022.

Major declines in sales like this have left so-called “ghost towns” like Ordway, full of vacant cannabis-related properties.

Colorado State University (CSU), Pueblo’s Institute of Cannabis Research (ICR) announced that it will fund $800,000 to cannabis research, split between six studies conducted by CSU and the University of Colorado (UC). The ICR is the official Cannabis Research Institute of Colorado, and as of 2019, funding comes from the Colorado Marijuana Tax Cash Fund.

The six studies include a variety of unique topics related to CBD and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the various effects of THC and its properties that may lead to addiction disorder, new ways to measure impairment for cannabis in roadside tests, and more.

According to an interview conducted by Westword with ICR director Chad Kelly, many more studies are already being conducted in Colorado. “There are a number of studies out there in which I’m very excited to see what the outcomes are. In many cases, I’m sure there will be additional research needed to carry it to the next level, but we’re really fortunate to be able to engage the best researchers throughout Colorado,” said Kelly.

Endocannabinoids in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Changes with Cannabidiol (CBD) treatment

 Led by Dr. Nicole Tartaglia, who is also a professor at UC Anshutz Medical Campus, this study will explore how CBD shows promise as a treatment for behavioral difficulties in children with autism. “In this project we will compare levels of 14 different endocannabinoids and the primary enzymes that regulate them in autistic children 4-17 years of age from the CASCADE study to non-autistic children in the same age range,” an ICR study summary stated. “Further, we will study changes in the endocannabinoid system in autistic children after treatment with CBD, and also explore the endocannabinoid profile of autistic children who had a positive response to CBD treatment to help make better recommendations related to which autistic children might respond best to CBD treatment.”

Examination of the bi-directional interactions between phytocannabinoids and a human-associated gut microbiota

Co-led by Dr. Jessica Prenni and D. Tiffany Weir, this study will explore how phytocannabinoids interact with the human gut microbiome. “Successful completion of this project will generate fundamental knowledge around how phytocannabinoids modulate the gut microbiome and provide proof-of concept and preliminary data for exploring interindividual differences in phytocannabinoids metabolism that can be leveraged in future human clinical studies utilizing phytocannabinoids for reducing both intestinal and systemic inflammation,” the summary explained.

Investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons resulting from vaped or dabbed cannabis/cannabis-derived products with known adverse health effects

The vitamin E acetate illness that occurred back in 2019 prompted many studies about the potential harms of vaping both cannabis or non-cannabis products. This study, led by Dr. Alison Pauer, will closely examine a toxicants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which is classified as a carcinogen. Specifically, the study claims that terpenes can produce PAH when cannabis is heated up to very high temperatures. “Thus, PAHs are already a public health concern, and we will investigate the potential generation of PAHs from vaping or electronic dabbing of cannabis and cannabis-derived products, especially those with high terpene concentrations,” ICR explained.

Developing predictive models to distinguish alcohol use, cannabis use and co-use: an exploration of electroenceph-alography (EEG) metrics and traditional intoxication measures

Determining cannabis impairment in drivers is difficult because it can remain in a person’s system long after a person has consumed. This study, led by CSU professors Dr. Hollis Karoly and Dr. Patti Davies, will explore the efficacy of separately identifying impairment through cannabis or alcohol with roadside tests using elecrtroencephalography (EEG). “The goal of this study is to use EEG to differentiate alcohol and cannabis co-intoxication from single-substance intoxication and identify which of the aforementioned neurocognitive components are most strongly associated with alcohol, cannabis or co-use,” the summary stated.

Increasing the Analytical Testing Capability of Cannabinoids and Concomitant Phytomolecules in Cannabis-derived Plant Matrices

For a more plant-focused study, Dr. Williem Baurerle seeks to examine cannabis water use requirements and determine the most efficient way to increase nutrients and conserve water in the process. Developing best practices to improve and optimize nutrient and irrigation efficiency will provide small- to large-scale Cannabis producers with scientific knowledge to increase their input efficiency, reduce resource waste, and increase the sustainability of a horticulture industry critical to Colorado’s economic growth and prosperity,” ICR explained.

Identifying the neuronal cell-types responsible for the rewarding and aversive properties of THC

UC Boulder professor Dr. David Root seeks to find out about how THC offers “rewarding qualities” and claims that it can sometimes lead to addiction. “Our primary goal is to identify which neurons in the brain’s ‘reward center’, the ventral tegmental area, are affected by THC, how these neurons are physiologically altered by THC, and the necessity of these neurons for the rewarding or aversive properties of THC,” the study summary stated. 

In addition to these six newest studies, ICR has also funded five cannabis studies in 2023 and 10 in 2022 that are ongoing. The ICR started in 2015, and has completed 40 studies since 2018.

Law enforcement officials in Colorado last week announced the arrest of 23 individuals for their alleged involvement in more than 40 cannabis dispensary burglaries in the Denver metropolitan area.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement on Friday that the 23 defendants are members of two separate organized crime groups. The arrests came following a lengthy investigation by several law enforcement agencies including the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, the FBI, ATF, the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (R.A.V.E.N.) and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force (V.C.E.T.F.).

“These arrests send an unmistakable message that law enforcement agencies throughout the Denver metro area are committed to working together to disrupt and disband dangerous criminal organizations,” said McCann. “The streets of Denver are safer today because of these two investigations and I am grateful to the many law enforcement officers who have worked so hard on these cases to get us to this point.” 

The defendants are accused of stealing or carjacking vehicles and using them to burglarize marijuana dispensaries, federal firearms licensees and other businesses in the Denver metropolitan area between September 2022 and November 2023, according to the district attorney’s office.

“Criminal networks don’t pay attention to geographic or jurisdictional boundaries. The FBI warrants were executed by our local partners at Denver Police, Aurora Police and Thornton Police, with support by our federal partners at Homeland Security Investigations and our state partners at the Marijuana Enforcement Division,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “The FBI will continue to use all available tools and resources to suppress violent crime and keep Coloradans safe.”

40 Pot Shops Burglarized

The district attorney’s office added that the 23 defendants allegedly burglarized more than 40 cannabis dispensaries resulting in the theft of approximately $780,000 in cash and merchandise. In addition to motor vehicle theft and burglary, the defendants will face numerous other felony charges, including aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA). Officials also noted that one of the firearms involved in the case has been linked to an open murder investigation.

“The Denver Police Department has committed significant resources to V.C.E.T.F., an investigative taskforce consisting of both FBI and Denver investigators responsible for dismantling criminal groups driving violence in the Denver metro area,” said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. “The taskforce’s investigation is an incredible example of the unwavering commitment to the safety of our community by identifying individuals responsible for violent crime, to include multiple aggravated robberies, kidnapping, carjackings, and burglaries of dispensaries and small businesses, and they will continue working to hold accountable those causing significant harm in our community.”

Cannabis Banking Bill Still Pending in Congress

Cannabis dispensaries are notoriously popular targets for burglaries because of the valuable and easily liquidated merchandise they sell. Additionally, federal banking regulations mean that many dispensaries operate their businesses almost exclusively in cash. As a result, the shops often have large amounts of cash on hand, making them an even more tempting target for sometimes violent criminals.

A bill that would ease banking regulations to allow financial institutions to serve businesses in the cannabis industry has been introduced by federal lawmakers numerous times over the past 10 years. Originally known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, the legislation was passed by the House of Representatives several times as either a standalone bill or attached to other legislation. But the measure never saw a vote in the U.S. Senate.

In September, a group of bipartisan senators introduced an updated version of the bill, known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. After the newly revised legislation was introduced, the bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis released a statement supporting the legislation.

“This legislation will help make our communities and small businesses safer by giving legal cannabis businesses access to traditional financial institutions, including bank accounts and small business loans,” the senators wrote in a joint statement. “It also prevents federal bank regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk.”

The new SAFER Banking Act is the result of months of negotiation between senators over several provisions of the original SAFE Banking Act. Under the measure, federal regulators would be required to “develop uniform guidance and examination procedures – including legacy cannabis-related deposits” and “update guidance related to hemp-related businesses and service providers.” Regulators would be prohibited from ordering banks to close an account “unless there is a valid reason.” The legislation also includes language to protect employees of state-legal cannabis businesses attempting to obtain residential mortgages funded by federal programs.

The SAFER Banking Act was approved by the Senate Banking Committee by a bipartisan vote of 14-9. The legislation now awaits a vote by the full Senate.