Pubdate: Wed, 01 Jul 2015 Source: Colorado Springs Independent (CO) Column: CannaBiz Copyright: 2015 Colorado Springs Independent Contact: http://www.csindy.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1536 Author: Bryce Crawford PURE MEDICAL PUSHED FROM DOWNTOWN, RAND PAUL GRADES HIGH Pure Medical pushed out of downtown Since the early days of the medical-marijuana boom, Pure Medical (puremedicalcolorado.com) has run two locations in town, one in Rockrimmon, which once drew a complaint to the city from District Attorney Dan May, who said he was calling only as a citizen, and one downtown. The downtown location recently had to move, says manager Karlie Van Arnam, who says that she's heard from others within her organization that the owners were forced to non-renew the lease due to pressure from the note-holding bank. (County records show the owners to be 19 North Tejon Partners, LLC, a legal entity that includes embattled local development company LandCo Equity Partners and nightclub mogul Sam Guadagnoli. Nobody answered a listed phone number.) Thus, the second Pure Medical is born at 130 E. Cheyenne Road, near the Ivywild neighborhood, with a grand-opening party set from 1 to 5 p.m. on July 24. "We're going to have the O.pen party bus down - they have music and games," says Van Arnam. "Cheeba Chew's going to be there; we're going to have EdiPure down. We've got some free swag from Weed Maps and that kind of stuff to give away, so we're going to be doing a bunch of promotions. We will have deals on a bunch of product. We are also going to have pipes that we give away for any purchase over a hundred dollars; and EdiPure's going to be running a deal where you buy one and you get a 100 mg EdiPure for a penny." Paul grades high on pot Last Friday, the Marijuana Policy Project released its report card for 22 presidential candidates. Leading the class with an A- is Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. The grade is "based largely on his sponsorship of a medical marijuana bill, his support for reducing marijuana-related penalties, and his strong support for allowing states to regulate marijuana for adult use," reads a press release. (Bernie Sanders gets a B, Hillary a B-, and Trump a C.) On Tuesday, Yahoo News reported, Paul probably made history as the first major presidential candidate to solicit marijuana money at a fundraiser. A VIP reception at the Colorado Convention Center - which is concurrently hosting the second annual Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, held by the National Cannabis Industry Association - offered a chance to mix with the candidate for donations of $2,700 ("Attendee"), $5,400 ("Sponsor") or $10,400 ("Host"). "He will take your questions and talk about his support of federal medical marijuana," reads a pre-event press release from the NCIA, "his push to reform banking laws so they do not deny services to legal cannabis businesses, his work on criminal justice reform, and his support of allowing states to determine their own cannabis laws." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom