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STATE AND POT INDUSTRY WORK TOGETHER

Trade Group Claims 10,000 Employed by Legalizing

DENVER - Colorado continues to work with the cannabis industry to make sure rules and safety guidelines are in place, six months after the implementation of legal marijuana.

A new fee schedule for medical retail marijuana was recently put in place, as well as greater supervision of plant production.

Meg Collins, spokeswoman for the Cannabis Business Alliance, said Colorado is proving it can legalize pot in a responsible way.

"The horror stories that people were expecting have not materialized," said Collins.  "I think that it's a business.  And I think that's what the industry has demonstrated over and over again."

According to the Marijuana Industry Group, about 10,000 Coloradans now work in the pot industry.

Colorado's ski resorts are taking steps to prepare for greater enforcement of no-smoking rules on the slopes.  Educational efforts are also underway for first-time users and those sampling THC-infused edibles.  There have been reports of increased emergency room visits from the overeating of marijuana products.

According to Collins, recreational marijuana use must be monitored like alcohol.  Many of the guidelines are the same.

"Start low and go slow," advised Collins.  "Know that if you're ingesting an edible, it's going to take, depending on your metabolism, two hours or more to take effect."

Colorado limits THC, marijuana's intoxicating chemical, to 10 milligrams per edible product serving, with a maximum of 10 servings per package.  That's considered to be the rough equivalent of a medium-sized joint.