Efforts to establish post-traumatic stress disorder as a condition treatable by medical marijuana fell short in the Colorado legislature last month. That was fine by the state’s health department, which circulated a fact sheet among legislators prior to vote on a PTSD amendment arguing that there’s no medical evidence MMJ…
Westword marijuana critic William Breathes is filing dispatches from the 4/20 celebration at Civic Center Park. Read from the bottom up to follow them in chronological order. 4:56 p.m.: Found my ride… Fun rally. As is always the case with the 4/20 rally, the actual event of smoking pot in…
If there’s one thing Denver’s marijuana movement has embraced, it’s a wanton disregard for federal laws. And no day illustrates this sentiment more than 4/20, when marijuana patients and exuberant scofflaws alike ascend on the Capitol to protest pot prohibition — and to offer reefer-eshing variations on commercial branding. Page…
As the number of people applying for Colorado medical marijuana licenses has multiplied, so has the amount of time required for the state to process all that paperwork. What started as a month delay stretched to three, then four months last fall. Now it’s seven or eight months — way…
The 4/20 event taking place at the University of Colorado at Boulder at 4:20 p.m. has been aptly described as “an orgasm of cannabis consumption.” But even as the smoke from that bash is inspiring a lot more flights than have taken off in Europe over the past week, a…
The International Cannabis Day festivities that kick off at 9 a.m. this morning at Civic Center Park have a major political component, as stressed in a recent interview with NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre, who’ll deliver the event’s “invocation.” As such, the Cannabis Therapy Institute is hoping to capitalize…
Back in January, when attorney and medical marijuana advocate Rob Corry called on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to reveal how much money it had collected from MMJ patient fees, he complained about a waiting period for permits in the four-month range. Since then, Corry believes the…
In an interview last week, NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre confirmed that he’ll be attending the politically oriented 4/20 rally at Denver’s Civic Center Park this year. It’ll be his second straight 4/20 in Colorado. Last year, he was at the bash at the University of Colorado at Boulder,…
Latecomers to the marijuana-legalization movement may never have heard of Jack Herer, who died yesterday at age seventy. But veterans of the cause cite his 1985 book The Emperor Wears No Clothes as the manifesto that launched a campaign that continues to gather steam. Herer died from complications related to…
Yet another unexpected twist in the case of Highlands Ranch’s Chris Bartkowicz, whose home-grown marijuana crop was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration immediately after he showed it off to Channel 9. Bartkowicz was expected to reverse his original not guilty plea at a hearing today — one that his…
After an attempt to decriminalize statewide the adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana failed at the polls in 2006, Mason Tvert, executive director of the drug policy reform organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and his colleagues hit upon a new strategy: Focus energy on local…
The case of Chris Bartkowicz, whose Highlands Ranch marijuana crop was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration after he showed it off to 9News, instantly fired up the medical marijuana industry, with advocate Rob Corry going toe to toe with the DEA’s Jeffrey Sweetin — and even Congressman Jared Polis…
The “Mile Highs and Lows” dispensary reviews you’ve come to know and love have welcomed a new member of the family: We’ve just published The Wildflower Seed’s critique of 420 Highways, located in scenic Lafayette. Don’t be late for this very important date. Then, check out other joints like this…
This dispensary has closed. As Colorado’s medical-marijuana industry grows, marijuana dispensaries of all types and sizes are proliferating around the state. Some resemble swanky bars or sterile dentist offices; others feel like a dope dealer’s college dorm room. To help keep them all straight, Westword is offering a no-holds-barred look…
Recently, a dog scarfed down a batch of pot brownies her owner purchased at a local medical marijuana dispensary — a seemingly humorous scenario that quickly proved to be no laughing matter. The owner “had called all her friends, and at first, they thought it was funny,” says Laura Higgins,…
Word of local dispensaries carrying cannabis caviar — supposedly super-strong, hash-infused pot going for the astronomical price of $1,400 an ounce — has created quite a buzz in the local medical-marijuana community. While it’s supposed to be rough on the taste buds, those who’ve tried it say it offers a…
As the executive director of NORML, the nation’s best-known marijuana-reform advocacy organization, Allen St. Pierre could spend 4/20 anywhere in the U.S. So why’s he coming to Denver for next week’s spectacle at Civic Center Park? Two main reasons: “This is the biggest political rally being done under the guise…
House Bill 1284, the legislation designed to regulate the medical marijuana industry, originally featured language allowing municipalities to ban dispensaries — a prohibition MMJ advocates see as unconstitutional. Perhaps that’s why the provision was removed from the bill late last month. But Tim Wise, owner of Wise Buys Antiques in…
Our collection of “Mile Highs and Lows” dispensary reviews is growing again. Today, check out William Breathes’s critique of Lotus Medical, an operation that has almost everything a MMJ aficionado could want (aside from convenient parking). But it’s hardly the only game in town. Learn more by perusing Westword’s dispensary…
As Colorado’s medical-marijuana industry grows, marijuana dispensaries of all types and sizes are proliferating around the state. Some resemble swanky bars or sterile dentist offices; others feel like a dope dealer’s college dorm room. To help keep them all straight, Westword will be offering a no-holds-barred look at what goes…
Yesterday, we told you about Nederland’s passage of a marijuana decriminalization initiative — making it the third city in Colorado (after Denver and Breckenridge) to take this step. The effort was grassroots by every meaning of the term. Although leading marijuana advocate Mason Tvert celebrated Nederland’s actions in the blog…
Senator Chris Romer is the sponsor of Senate Bill 109, a measure that aims to clarify the relationship between doctors and medical marijuana patients. It was approved by the Senate in February. Last week, however, Romer admitted to being unhappy that a requirement calling for MMJ patients 21 and under…
