Tag: hemp
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Marijuana cultivator files class-action lawsuit over state ‘distortions’ in excise tax collections
Plaintiff says state owes over $100 million in refunds The regulators of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation recreational marijuana market have allowed so many sham transactions in the industry to proliferate that honest cultivators and manufacturers shoulder an unfair excise tax burden, claims a lawsuit filed on Thursday that seeks class-action status. The lawsuit, filed by a large-scale…
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In private meeting, Colorado marijuana regulators acknowledge extent of illegal hemp sales
One regulator said the extent of the suspicious transactions would ‘explode your minds.’ This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. A top regulator for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division acknowledged in a private meeting with industry representatives that the amount of chemically converted hemp being illegally sold as marijuana is far greater…
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Colorado bill allowing THC beverages to be sold at grocery stores, restaurants pulled by sponsor
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A Denver Democrat decided on Tuesday to pull a proposal that would have allowed beverages with tetrahydrocannabinol or THC to be sold at locations like grocery stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues. THC is the psychoactive substance in cannabis, the chemical that gives people a high. Senate Bill 164 would have established a regulatory framework for…
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Colorado marijuana regulators pledge crackdown on intoxicating hemp
Citing potential tax avoidance, ‘serious risk to public safety,’ Marijuana Enforcement Division warns companies about swapping illegal chemically converted hemp for marijuana This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Colorado regulators announced on Monday that they plan to crack down on companies that illegally substitute cheaper and…
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Colorado marijuana regulators consider major changes to how labs test for contaminants
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week. Colorado marijuana manufacturers would no longer be allowed to choose which product samples they send for mandatory lab testing under a new regulatory proposal discussed at a…
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Novel medical-grade CBD pharmacy opens in Colorado, first of its kind in U.S.
Inside an unassuming yet sprawling industrial building nestled within the high plains of Watkins, about a 30-minute drive southeast of Denver International Airport, step into Kazmira Therapeutics’ “hemp bay,” as it’s affectionately called. Stacked and lined on pallets and metal shelves are dozens of cloth bags weighing upward of 170 pounds each. They’re filled with…
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Perspective: Closing the hemp loophole
For years, gas stations, convenience stores, and online shops advertised “hemp” or “CBD” candies and vapes packaged in rainbow colors and marketed with words like “calming” and “natural.” They looked harmless — even healthy — and were readily available to kids. Rita Webb’s teenage son began using products labeled “CBD,” believing they were safe. But…
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EDITORIAL: Don’t remove Colorado’s guardrails on hemp
News last week that Colorado state lawmakers might loosen restrictions they had imposed two years ago on intoxicating hemp products was both disappointing and troubling. It’s disappointing because it would reverse rare progress by our usually THC-friendly legislature. It also would flout Congress’ overdue move earlier this month closing a loophole in federal law that…
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Colorado could loosen regulations on intoxicating hemp products, countering new federal ban
As the federal government is poised to impose a near-ban on intoxicating hemp products next year, Colorado lawmakers are planning to loosen the restrictions imposed by a 2023 law. Last week, Congress included a provision in its funding bill intended to end the federal government shutdown — a ban on all intoxicating hemp products with…
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Pueblo cannabis company to pay $225,000 fine in settlement with Attorney General’s Office
A Pueblo-based cannabis company will pay a fine of at least $225,000 after reaching a settlement with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, according to a press release. Bee’s Knees CBD’s and its owner Joseph Leyba were found in an investigation to have “made several misrepresentations on its website regarding the source of their products, wrongly characterized some…