The longer the federal government waits to tell Colorado and Washington whether it will allow the states to determine their own marijuana policy after each passed pot-reform measures, the more theories surface about who in the administration might prove to be an impediment. The latest involves Vice President Joe Biden,…
High-profile media organizations have started floating the idea of rescheduling marijuana as a way of bridging the gap between federal law and Colorado’s in the wake of Amendment 64’s passage. As we noted Wednesday, Colorado asked DEA administrator Michele Leonhart to consider doing so this past December. Now we know…
Since the passage of Amendment 64, which legalizes adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, have you been getting questions about how it will work? So have we. To help clear the foggy air, we’ve asked medical marijuana dispensary critic William Breathes to follow in the footsteps of…
Last week, we introduced you to Frank McDonald, self-proclaimed mayor of Stoner, Colorado, who announced plans to transform the two-person town where he lives into an entertainment destination infused with the spirit of Amendment 64. Since that story and another profile, however, McDonald says he’s been jailed and harassed –…
For the third year in a row, state lawmakers will be pushing for an official marijuana DUI limit, to curb what they say is an epidemic of stoned drivers that will only get worse with the passage of Amendment 64. Senator Steve King, a Western Slope Republican, is again sponsoring…
In this space yesterday, marijuana advocate Christian Sederberg spoke positively about the Amendment 64 task force to which he was just named. So, too, does attorney Sean McAllister, who lobbied the governor’s office about the importance of marijuana consumers being represented on the panel. But with his optimism comes caution…
Update: Yesterday afternoon, after we shared an activist Max Montrose’s claim that a Fox31 report on driving under the influence of THC was rigged (see our previous coverage below), the station released a 1,600-word response denying the claim. Reporter Mark Meredith insists the driving simulator wasn’t rigged, and says the…
Now that Amendment 64 is law, the mainstream media is beginning to grapple with the contradictions between the act’s language and federal law. The latest solution, as floated by the Washington Post and Rachel Maddow fill-in Ezra Klein? Reschedule marijuana so that it is no longer listed as a Schedule…
Word that Governor John Hickenlooper had signed Amendment 64 into law necessarily overshadowed the announcement of members assigned to a task force that will guide implementation of the act. But Christian Sederberg, who’ll represent the A64 campaign in the group, thinks the process is off to a positive start…
Yesterday, Governor John Hickenlooper quietly signed Amendment 64. But the reaction from major players who oppose the new pot law has been considerably louder. U.S. Attorney John Walsh and the Colorado State Patrol both issued terse warnings calculated to harsh the buzzes of celebrants. And a prior message from CU…
Ever since voters approved Amendment 64, Governor John Hickenlooper’s office has been evasive about saying when he would ink the measure. But this morning, he quietly signed A64 into law — an action followed by a strangely worded announcement on view below…
In doing research for our feature on the history of cannabis in Colorado, we came across some amazing old news stories from local papers about marijuana arrests and more. We’ll share the most memorable of them in our quasi-regular feature, Colorado Cannabis Time Capsule. Today’s item, from December 20, 1934:…
At this point, there’s still no official word from the Justice Department about a response to Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. But as a similar law in Washington state went into effect at midnight yesterday, prompting a smoke-out at the Space Needle, a New York Times article…
Since the passage of Amendment 64, which legalizes adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, have you been getting questions about how it will work? So have we. To help clear the foggy air, we’ve asked medical marijuana dispensary critic William Breathes to follow in the footsteps of…
At midnight, Initiative 502, Washington state’s equivalent of Amendment 64, went into effect — and a huge throng gathered at the Space Needle to celebrate the occasion with public toking; see the video below. It’s precisely the sort of event the Denver District Attorney is trying to prevent by warning…
Less than a month before a city-council-approved ban on dispensaries would even take hold in the tiny town of Dacono, a petition that calls for repealing that ban has already been approved. It’s scheduled to go before voters in 2013…
Update: Yesterday, we noted that the Boulder City Attorney’s office planned a presentation suggesting that city council approve a moratorium until at least 2014 on new marijuana retail outlets legalized under Amendemnt 64; see previous coverage below. Last night, the council chose not to go forward with such an ordinance…
Earlier today, Sam Levin posted about business organizations calling for a federal crackdown on Colorado to prevent the implementation of Amendment 64, passed by voters last month. Meanwhile, though, 58 percent of voters quizzed nationwide favor legalizing marijuana according to a new poll — and activist Mason Tvert thinks the…
The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division has released the set of rules personnel hope to change over the next year in order to streamline the state medical marijuana industry. See the full document below…
Frank McDonald is the self-proclaimed mayor of Stoner, Colorado, a town whose population numbers two — with the other resident being, in his words, “an old lady named Mary Jane.” But thanks to the community’s name, and the passage of Amendment 64, he thinks the future for the tiny spot…
Last January, private pilot Carl Gruber took off from a California airport headed for Boulder with 55 pounds of marijuana loaded into his tiny plane. But instead of friendly co-smugglers waiting for Gruber at the Boulder County Airport, the Boulder County Drug Task Force and agents from the Department of…
Since Amendment 64 passed in Colorado, Republican officials have been tasked with responding to a policy that the party didn’t embrace but a majority of voters supported. With small amounts of recreational marijuana use to be okayed in the state constitution, GOP reps are supporting the state’s right to make…
