To a child on the prowl for sweets, that brownie, cookie or bear-shaped candy left on the kitchen counter is just asking to be gobbled up. But in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, notably Colorado, that child may end up with more than a sugar high. A study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says that in Colorado the rates of marijuana exposure in young children, many of them toddlers, have increased 150 percent since 2014, when recreational marijuana products, like sweets, went on the market legally. [continues 225 words]
Accidental Consumption Leading to Hospital Trips Colorado's laws on labeling and child-resistant packaging have been unable to stop an increase of young kids ending up in the emergency room after accidentally consuming marijuana, according to a new study published online Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study - led by a doctor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus - found that emergency room visits and poison-control calls for kids 9 and younger who consumed pot in Colorado jumped after recreational marijuana stores opened. About twice as many kids visited the Children's Hospital Colorado emergency room per year in 2014 and 2015 as did in years before the opening of recreational marijuana stores, according to the study. Annual poison-control cases increased fivefold, the study found. [continues 473 words]
To a child on the prowl for sweets, that brownie, cookie or bear-shaped candy left on the kitchen counter is just asking to be gobbled up. But in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, notably Colorado, that child may end up with more than a sugar high. A study published on Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says that in Colorado the rates of marijuana exposure in young children, many of them toddlers, have increased 150 percent since 2014, when recreational marijuana products, like sweets, went on the market legally. [continues 750 words]
BOULDER, Colo. - The nondescript building in east Boulder is like many other in the city; is, in fact, identical to several surrounding structures. Passing motorists and pedestrians wouldn't know that there's a multi-million dollar manufacturing operation inside. And that's the way the folks at CW Hemp want it. Even if someone did manage to peek inside the 18,000-square-foot lab, warehouse and office space, they wouldn't know that one of the most famous strains of hemp in the world is processed here, reported the Daily Camera. [continues 922 words]
Advisory Ends After Residents Were Told Not to Bathe, Drink or Cook With Their Tap Water Hugo - the small town that made a sudden appearance in national headlines for nearly two days - is returning to normal after state laboratories determined that all six field tests that gave rise to suspicions about THC-contaminated water turned out to be false positives. Sandie Bailey and her 10-year-old daughter, JoHanna, said Friday that dishes were starting to pile up in their kitchen in Hugo because they were scared to use the town's water. The water was feared to be contaminated by THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana. Testing by the CBI, announced Saturday, eliminated that fear. Photos by RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post [continues 355 words]
DENVER - There are no marijuana dispensaries or greenhouses in the tiny railroad town of Hugo, where Theodore Roosevelt once ate breakfast with the local cowboys. But this week, Hugo's 740 residents were told to stop drinking the water after the town's water supply tested positive for THC, the psychoactive chemical in Colorado's most famous cash crop. The trouble started when a local company trying to calibrate its employee drug tests pulled a positive reading from Hugo's tap water. The town's Public Works Department investigated and found signs of tampering and "forced entry" at one of the wells that supply the town's drinking water, a spokesman for the Lincoln County sheriff told reporters. The town sealed off the well that seemed to be the source of the tainted water. [continues 298 words]
Hugo) This town on Colorado's Eastern Plains warned its residents not to drink, bathe in or cook with its tap water Thursday because officials said multiple preliminary tests of the water came back positive for THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana. Residents were told not even to let their pets drink the water. There have been no reports of illnesses or any symptoms of impairment from drinking the water, officials said at a news conference Thursday evening. Deeper tests, which could be completed Friday, are needed to verify the presence of THC and to determine the level of contamination, if any. [continues 846 words]
Dear Stoner: My dad has expressed an interest in getting in on all this marijuana business; as a supportive daughter, I'm wondering if there is any opportunity for a veteran civil engineer in the industry. Marisa Dear Marisa: Your dad is probably overqualified for 99.5 percent of the jobs in the marijuana industry at the moment - but he could still find ways to use his skills, and there may be more opportunities in the future. Depending on what sort of civil engineer he was/is, he could help design the exteriors of grow houses. With all of the energy that hydroponic systems use in warehouses, I'm sure commercial growers and environmentalists alike would be interested in maximizing efficiency and minimizing energy use. [continues 339 words]
The smoky sunsets of late make for an eerie reminder of the fires burning all around the Springs - to the west, up north and in our past. It's unwelcome deja vu, but it seems all but inevitable each summer. Colorado is hot, dry and windy during the summer, making it fertile ground for ravaging fires. But research suggests this recent uptick may be attributable to insect outbreaks, drought and rising temperatures - all symptoms of manmade climate change. Innovators not resigned to that fate have found an unlikely tool for both surviving wildfires and preventing them at the same time: cannabis. (But not the kind that gets you high.) [continues 546 words]
Hallucinogenic African Bark Could Be the Answer to Heroin Addiction, and Addiction in General Richard Dilley had tried everything by the time he traveled to Mexico and agreed to ingest a drug derived from a hallucinogenic African shrub bark that, he was told, would alter his brain. All for the bargain price of $10,000. While terrifying in a way, the drug known as ibogaine (or Tabernanthe iboga in its natural state) was, at this point, less of a horror than the drug Dilley had been addicted to since his teen years. [continues 3617 words]
EDGEWATER - This may not be the city that cannabis built, but Colorado's most famous cash crop could soon be the driving force behind construction of a $7 million, 40,000-square-foot civic center in this tiny community wedged between Lakewood and Denver. Edgewater is exploring using sales tax revenue from marijuana sales to cover more than half the cost - $4 million - of building a facility that will house a new city hall, police station, fitness center and library. It's a project that likely wouldn't move forward - - at least not for years - absent the tax remittances made by the city's halfdozen pot shops. The city expects to collect north of $1.2 million in sales tax revenues from pot in 2016. [continues 823 words]
Halfway through 2016, Colorado's employment growth is meeting expectations and the the economy continues to outperform the nation: Employment is growing faster here, housing is hotter and incomes are higher, according to a report released Thursday by the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. And Colorado's fledgling marijuana industry - which, in the grand scheme of things, is just a tiny sliver of the economic pie chart - is backfilling retail sales losses from the bankruptcy of a certain Englewood-based sporting goods retailer and bolstering otherwise sluggish manufacturing segments, according to the Colorado Business Review report. [continues 650 words]
News that backers of an antipot ballot measure decided to shelve their campaign should count as a hollow victory for Colorado's cannabis industry - and as a clear wake-up call. For one thing, the surprising claim that the marijuana industry gamed the system to keep Amendment 139 from voters would be, if substantiated, a public relations nightmare. But that's not all. The ballot fight stirs up a second perception problem that marijuana sellers would be smart to address on their own. [continues 447 words]
Dear Stoner: I'll be visiting Colorado this summer, and everyone is telling me I can only buy a quarter-ounce. Is that true? If so, is that for every shop, or can I buy more at another? Dear Based: It used to be that way, but not any longer! In June, Governor John Hickenlooper signed a law bumping up the out-of-stater limit to an ounce, so you don't have to limit yourself to a quarter-ounce at each shop you visit. Not that I've met many people who go through a quarter in a day - but they're out there. [continues 363 words]
A statewide ballot initiative aimed at Colorado's legal cannabis industry disintegrated on July 8, much to the chagrin of its proponents and relief of opponents. Amendment 139, which would've effectively taken 80 percent of products off dispensaries' shelves, had scored approvals from the state Title Board, Colorado Supreme Court and Secretary of State's Office. But, according to backers' withdrawal announcement, the task of gathering 98,492 valid signatures by Aug. 8 became nearly impossible when, they alleged, industry-funded opposition "[bought] off signature gatherers to keep the initiative from moving forward." [continues 514 words]
The activists aiming to implement strict THC limits on Colorado's recreational marijuana industry will withdraw the controversial Amendment 139 next week, their attorney told The Cannabist on Friday. "139 is done," said attorney Frank McNulty, Colorado's former Speaker of the House and the lawyer representing the Healthy Colorado Coalition, made up of citizens pushing for tighter controls on the cannabis industry. "This is something I spent a great deal of time on in my last two years in the legislature, and my interest in protecting our state and our kids hasn't waned since then. [continues 739 words]
Latest Innovation From Weed Growers Is More Partnership Than Endorsement Deal. Pot is going the way of sneakers and snowboards. As cannabis fights for a foothold in the U.S. economy, innovative weed growers are taking cues from a variety of industries - footwear, musical instruments, skis and snowboards, for example - and working with superstar musicians to develop signature marijuana strains, pro-model cannabis that sails off the shelves. Colorado's growers - captains of the state's maturing cannabis scene - - are leading the charge in this next stage of marijuana marketing that's more partnership than endorsement deal. [continues 836 words]
Marijuana is legal in Denver and Boulder. As you drive around Boulder, you will notice that the marijuana stores are low-key - almost invisible. Driving through Denver, the marijuana stores are quite glaring. To me, the visible marketing cheapens the look of Denver. I suggest that Denver politicians can learn something from Boulder. Boulder's zoning laws tightly regulate marijuana marketing. I think that really helps Boulder's image. Should low-key visual marketing be considered in Denver, the marijuana stores will complain about how much money they've invested in signage. I suggest the Denver City Council give them four years to recoup the investment, then make the stores take down the signs. Denver can do better! Robert L. Poley, Boulder [end]
Dueling Petitions Would Allow for Social Use of Pot Denver voters could have their pick in November between two initiatives aimed at allowing social use of marijuana in different places. One group has been gathering signatures for an initiative that would allow private marijuana consumption clubs. The other has a more expansive aim: to allow nearly any business, including a bar, to offer a set-off, 21-and-over public "consumption area," so long as the owner obtains a neighborhood group's support first. [continues 644 words]
Inside Colorado
