Medical Marijuana: Dept. of Revenue announces 25 people chosen for MMJ working group

Last week, the Colorado Department of Health found itself in hot water after Westwordreported that one of the members of its new Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, Ken Weaver, was a Texas ex-con with a secret life. Now the Department of Revenue has announced its advisory group, and while Weaver isn't on the list, nearly everybody else imaginable is -- since 25 people made the cut.

Here's the full list of the Department of Revenue's medical marijuana rule-making working group, which will recommend how, exactly, the new state rules regarding dispensaries and associated businesses should be implemented. In many cases, the state listed what contingents the appointees represent.

• Norton Arbelaez, River Rock Wellness Center (large dispensary/optional grow license)
• Betty Aldworth, Full Spectrum labs (laboratory
• Greg Goldfogel, owner of Mangia Ganja Gourmet Edibles
• Jill Lamoureux, Colorado Dispensary Services (large dispensary/optional grow license)
• Barb Visher, Tender Healing Care (small Dispensary Owner)
• Nicholas King, Alpine Herbal Wellness (small Dispensary Owner)
• Brian Vicente. (patient lawyer/advocate)
• Jessica LeRoux, Twirling Hippy Confections, LLC (edibles)
• Ryan Vincent, The Health Center (small dispensary/patient)
• Bob Dill (attorney)
• Rob Corry (attorney)
• Cheryl Brownm MMBAlliance.Com (association affiliate/dispensary owner, herbalist)
• Edward Bruder, MMJ patient
• Paul Bregman (doctor)
• Dr. Alan Shackeford (doctor)
• Ann Hause, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
• Jeff Lawrence, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
• Tom Butts, Tri County Health
• Ernie Martinez, President of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association
• James Alderden, Larimer County Sheriff
• Matt Brown, Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation
• Bruce Grainger, Herbal Connections (caregiver/patient advocate)
• Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League
• Eric Bergman, Colorado Counties, Inc.
• Bryan Swanton, owner of several dispensaries

There are lots of MMJ industry regulars like Brian Vicente, Rob Corry, Paul Bregman, Jessica LeRoux and Matt Brown on the list, with two people, Jill Lamoureux and Ernie Martinez, on both the health department and the revenue department's committees. And while the health department's committee has been accused of being biased against medical marijuana, this new list includes some of the most vocal marijuana advocates around.

The revenue department working group will hit the ground running. Its first meeting is this Wednesday, August 4 -- but don't make plans to attend. The meetings won't be open to the public. "This is a group made up of representatives of various stakeholders and is not going to be making a final decision," Couch says. "It will be making recommendations to the state licensing authority, and those recommendations will be made public. Ultimately, anything that will go forward will have a full public hearing and everyone will get a chance to speak."

Still, that may not be enough to satisfy interested parties who want to sit in on every stage of the state's ongoing medical marijuana deliberations.