The head of an international natural products association told a crowded room of hemp entrepreneurs Friday that their industry is forecast to generate as much as $45 billion by 2024 — but big questions and regulatory hurdles loom. Judith Kohler, The Denver PostColorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, and Loren... Read more
Colorado’s status as the frontier for legal marijuana is fading fast as larger states get in the game, spurring lawmakers this spring to consider big changes that would reverberate for years to come. Substantial proposals are predicted to unleash an influx of money from larger investors into the state’s... Read more
As Colorado’s legislature considers whether to allow publicly traded cannabis companies to operate in the state, one such company in Denver has been doing so for months. Founded in 2010 by John Fritzel, then a bankrupt former Subway franchisee, and two of his friends, MJardin has become a significant... Read more
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and City Attorney Kristin Bronson say legal immigrants in Denver are being denied the opportunity to become naturalized citizens because they work in the cannabis industry. In a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Hancock said he met with two immigrants this week,... Read more
The Denver City Council on Monday rejected a proposal that would have made it easier to open social-use marijuana business. The change would have reduced the setbacks required for venues where people can use cannabis. Currently, the “social consumption” businesses must be 1,000 feet from schools, day care facilities,... Read more
With Sweet Leaf’s co-owners sentenced to prison earlier this year, the last vestiges of the once vast marijuana dispensary network are being plastered over as a new company takes control of the chain’s final three locations. A company going by Xclusive Cannabis has taken to the web to announce... Read more
Denver policeMarijuana business burglaries. Thirty-four marijuana business burglaries have been reported to Denver police this year and investigators are looking to collar a specific group that has pulled off multiple burglaries. A burglary ring is using stolen Jeep Liberties and Cherokees to hit marijuana businesses along major roads including... Read more
A Marine veteran who dreamed of becoming a police officer was gunned down three years ago Wednesday while working as a security guard at an Aurora marijuana dispensary. The case has never been solved even though authorities are offering $55,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of... Read more
Willie’s Reserve, the Denver-based cannabis brand from singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, recently unveiled its first partnership with a Colorado musician. Soul-revival band Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats has lent its name to a line of Willie’s Reserve vape pens made with “a high-quality strain of cannabis, known as Cherry... Read more
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would grant legal marijuana businesses access to banking, a measure that would clear up a longstanding headache for the industry. The bill, called the SAFE Banking Act, passed 321-103 on the strength of near-unanimous support from Democrats and nearly... Read more
