Pubdate: Wed, 25 Dec 2013
Source: Pottstown Mercury (PA)
Copyright: 2013 The Mercury, a Journal Register Property
Contact:  http://www.pottstownmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2287
Author: John Ingold, Digital First Media
Page: D3

COLORADO ISSUES FIRST LICENSES FOR RECREATIONAL POT SALES IN THE US

Colorado on Monday became the first state in U.S. history to issue
special licenses for recreational marijuana businesses.

After weeks of scrutiny of applications, the state Marijuana
Enforcement Division mailed out licenses to 136 marijuana stores on
Monday. Those stores - if they also have received approval from their
local governments - will be able to start selling pot to the adult
public on Jan. 1.

The Marijuana Enforcement Division also issued and mailed licenses for
31 marijuana-infused products makers and 178 marijuana-cultivation
facilities.

Most of the approved stores are in Denver, where 102 businesses were
issued their state license on Monday. Licenses were also issued to
stores in towns from Alma to Edgewater to Garden City.

Colorado's marijuana regulators have previously said they would make a
decision on the hundreds of recreational cannabis business
applications submitted in the month of October by the end of the year.
Amendment 64, the measure that legalized marijuana use and limited
possession in Colorado for people over 21, gives the state only 90
days to make a decision on an application.

"It has taken an enormous team effort to be able to issue state
licenses in the timelines identified in Amendment 64," Barbara Brohl,
the head of Colorado's Department of Revenue, which oversees marijuana
business enforcement, said in a statement.
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MAP posted-by: Matt