Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

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Little meth house on the prairie.

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Going With the Flow

Glendale gets a lesson in the politics of pollution.

Will Monday be judgment day for Colorado's medical marijuana industry?

It's hard to understate the explosive rise of Colorado's medical marijuana industry. When Westword took an in-depth look at issue in the February 2009 article "Medical marijuana Has Become a Growth Industry in Colorado," just over 5,000 patients had been approved by the state to use marijuana -- w ... More >>

The state will need a pot of money to maintain the medical marijuana registry

It's hard to understate the explosive rise of Colorado's medical marijuana industry. When Westword took an in-depth look at issue in the February 2009 article "Medical marijuana Has Become a Growth Industry in Colorado," just over 5,000 patients had been approved by the state to use marijuana -- w ... More >>

Healthcare pro says "no" to swine-flu vaccine

The virus at work.​In a Tuesday blog, the Colorado Department of Health's Margaret Huffman reassured the public that the H1N1/swine-flu vaccine was safe and said concerns about it weren't dominating calls received on the state's CoHELP info line. If so, that flies in the face of a new Associat ... More >>

Transcript of last week's Board of Health pot hearing reaches new heights of unintentional hilarity

"Shut up about your fucking mango!"​What happens when the state Board of Health decides to hold a last-minute meeting on a controversial topic like medical marijuana, and then tries to hold it via conference call using technology that apparently no one knows how to work? Comic genius. Hat tip ... More >>

State health officials fighting swine flu with sarcasm

The number of swine flu cases reported in Colorado last week fell for the third week in a row, as can be seen on this handy-dandy chart courtesy of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. But a decline in H1N1 didn't stop the department from making a handy-dandy PSA, which attemp ... More >>

Dude, where's my medical-marijuana ID?

Timothy Dalton got his special license -- where's mine?​As part of a September feature on the state's growing medical marijuana scene, I went through the process of obtaining a state medical-marijuana ID. On August 26, after scoring the needed doctor's recommendation, I sent my application and ... More >>

Rob Corry to state health department: Where has all the medical marijuana registration money gone?

Bet the folks at the health department love getting mail from Rob Corry.​Attorney Rob Corry, one of the most aggressive medical marijuana advocates on the current scene, isn't about to ease up as the Colorado legislature prepares to consider legislation on the subject. His latest gambit? Earl ... More >>

Medical marijuana fight: Health department lobbies against MMJ use in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder

Photo by John J. Kruzel, courtesy of the U.S. Defense DepartmentThe use of the lifelike simulator shown here has been approved for PTSD treatment.​Update, 4:00 p.m.: Representative Sal Pace's amendment relating to medical marijuana and post-traumatic stress disorder has been defeated, and the ... More >>

Medical marijuana card demand leads to new Colorado health department policy

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has surrendered to the inevitable. Yesterday morning I wrote about a friend,Elaine Betts, who'd received her medical marijuana card more than five months after she applied for it -- and over two months after she died. Soon after, the ... More >>

Medical marijuana hearing sets up fight on the senate floor

Matt Brown sees more weed battles looming.​Yesterday morning, we previewed a senate committee hearing on House Bill 1284, which is intended to regulate the medical marijuana industry, with Sensible Colorado's Brian Vicente maintaining that he's ready to push a ballot initiative if the final re ... More >>

Medical marijuana timeline: What a long, strange trip it's been

​With dispensaries on every street corner, legislators having rolled out the first regulatory system for statewide marijuana distribution in the country and activists seriously considering an initiative to legalize pot this November, it might seem like Colorado has always been a marijuana Mecc ... More >>

Medical marijuana community fights health department's PTSD policy

Courtesy of US Defense Dept.Approved PTSD simulator treatment.​Colorado Springs dispensary owner Drew Milburn, a veteran, doesn't like the state health department's opposition to using medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder -- and he's not alone. Team 420 has scheduled a pr ... More >>

Medical marijuana patients, chihuahua protest application backlog

​Exactly six people and a chihuahua showed up at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment this afternoon to protest what they say is an extraordinary wait time to receive their medical marijuana cards. Some patients are waiting so long for their applications to be processed, t ... More >>

Medical marijuana advisory panel needs volunteers

​Care about medical marijuana? The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is looking for a few good men and women to serve on the Medical Marijuana Registry Advisory Committee, which will help implement the new medical marijuana regulations required by the laws recently passed by ... More >>

Medical marijuana card renewal update: Not rejected -- yet

​The time has finally come. My battered, torn and frayed red card expired on the 13th, forcing me to join the club of thousands of doctors-recommendation-carrying medical patients waiting for a card.

Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee gets rolling minus shadowy patient rep Ken Weaver

Ken Weaver​The most notable part of the first meeting of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's new Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, held this morning, wasn't what occurred, but what was missing: Staffers announced that Ken Weaver, the committee's designated patient ad ... More >>

Medical marijuana activists want revenue dept. to re-open MMJ committee to public application

Laura Kriho.​Cannabis Therapy Institute's Laura Kriho and Colorado Coalition for Patients and Caregivers' Robert Chase succeeded in getting the Department of Revenue to postpone the first meeting of its new medical marijuana advisory working group because it wasn't open to the public. But they ... More >>

Medical Marijuana card renewal update: Dude, where's my card?

​It's been 48 days since I first wrote about sending in my application to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for my Medical Marijuana Registry card -- and still no sign of my new red card. The fact that they haven't even cashed my check yet leads me to believe my envelope ... More >>

Did medical marijuana smoke out Colorado chief medical officer Ned Calonge?

​Dr. Ned Calonge, who's spent the past eight years serving as Colorado's chief medical officer, will be leaving at the end of 2010 to take the top post at the Colorado Trust, a health foundation. During his tenure, Calonge has tackled health calamities as varied as anthrax scares, water-contam ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Health dept. reinstates 1,300 rejected MMJ patients -- for now

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's rejection of nearly 2,000 medical marijuana patients' licenses prompted talk of potential lawsuits from MMJ advocacy groups. But the dynamic changed at yesterday's meeting of the CDPHE's medical marijuana advisory committee, when the ... More >>

Medical marijuana card update: Four months later, William Breathes can finally breathe easy

​It looks like I missed the worst of it. Just four months ago, I sent in my application to renew my medical marijuana card and have been waiting on the edge of my seat to see if they would reject me for some trivial minutia ever since.

Medical marijuana: CO health department application outsourcing not to private company

​Colorado's health department has been trying to catch up on its tremendous backlog of medical marijuana applications amid persistent rumors that it's been doing so with the help of a private company, thereby violating patient confidentiality. Turns out that's not true, although there's a logi ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Board of Health rejects Cannabis Therapy Institute's petition (PICS)

​Update: Yesterday, Colorado's board of health rejected an emergency petition from the Cannabis Therapy Institute, on view below in an item first published yesterday morning. The reason? The board didn't believe the concerns outlined in the petition constituted an emergency. However, the topic ... More >>

Japanese radiation worries in U.S.: Health dept. tries to calm fears as media stokes them

​This morning, Peter Boyles spent part of his KHOW morning show wondering if we should be taking potassium iodide to protect ourselves against radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. And at this writing, the main story on the CBS4 home page asks, "Could Japan's Radi ... More >>

Radiation from Japanese nuclear paint found in Colorado: Health dept. says no need to panic

​Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment tried to counter media-fueled fears about radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan creating health risks here. Today, that job just got more difficult. The CDPHE confirms that "minuscule" amounts of ... More >>

Medical marijuana advisory committee shuts down, health dept. rejects caregiver definition

Brian Vicente.​In February, a meeting of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's medical marijuana advisory committee resulted in a definition of caregivers that cheered committee member Jill Lamoureux, who called it "movement forward for patient and caregiver rights." Now, ... More >>

Bed bugs: Will repealing law requiring sanitization of used mattresses encourage bugs?

Flickr​Update below: Last month, our feature story "Bug Bedlam!" detailed Denver's bed bug infestation, supposedly one of the worst in the nation. Tomorrow, the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hear a bill to repeal Colorado's so-called Bedding Act, which requires that use ... More >>

Medical marijuana: 137,556 patient applications received, 69% of approved applicants are male

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has released the latest data about medical marijuana patients in the state, and the numbers are fascinating. As of March 31, the most recent date available, 137,556 people have applied to the patient registry, and 123,890 -- most of the ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Is health board ready to pass THC driving reg like one that died in legislature?

​At 9 a.m., the Board of Health is scheduled to consider a series of new rules pertaining to medical marijuana patients and caregivers -- and the Cannabis Therapy Institute's Laura Kriho has objections to a lot of them. She's particularly incensed by potential changes in the definition of care ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Hard-to-find patient/caregiver rules go into effect July 30

​Alhough new rules for medical marijuana patients and caregivers go into effect in just ten days -- on July 30 -- some activists are saying copies of the regulations are nearly impossible to find.

Medical marijuana patient-fees comment period extended due to Health Dept. snafu

​Back in July, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment asked medical marijuana cardholders for their thoughts on the department dropping red card fees from $90 to $35. Last week, the comment period was extended to August 12 on the CDPHE website without any explanation. We've n ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Health department registry stats show 5 percent decline in red cards

​After nearly four months, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (finally) updated its medical marijuana stats page yesterday. And although the latest information is from August, it does hint at a slight decline over the last two months in the number of people holding a red ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Red card wait times increasing?

​A year ago, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was so backlogged with medical-marijuana license applications that patients had to wait as long as eight months after filing paperwork before they got their red cards. And now, as this bubble of patients rises to the surfac ... More >>

Medical marijuana registry drops by 26,000 patients in 3 months, says heath deptartment

​New data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows that as of September 30, there were 102,592 patients active in the medical marijuana registry. That's 26,000 fewer patients than the registry's peak enrollment of 128,698 back in June -- a decline of more than 20 pe ... More >>

Med. marijuana patient red card wait: 60 days & counting even though check cashed a month ago

​Although Colorado Department of Health spokesman Mark Salley says red card renewal time for medical marijuana patients remains under 35 days, we keep hearing different stories. For instance, one patient tells us she's been waiting more than two months for her card despite the fact that the st ... More >>

Medical marijuana: 3,200 patient applications in limbo, may be tossed due to technicalities

​Update 2 by Michael Roberts below: Today, the state board of health approved decreasing marijuana registry fees from $90 to $35, as anticipated -- and tweaks in language involving indigent patients and physician conditions and restrictions sailed through as well. But more intriguing was word ... More >>

Med. marijuana: Just because William Breathes got his card doesn't mean all's right with registry

​Unlike so many patients stuck in medical marijuana limbo, I received my red card in the mail this week -- 29 days from the date I sent my information and a check for $90 to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. It was postmarked a week after it was issued, which could be the faul ... More >>

Medical marijuana: 14 percent of MMJ patient applications being held up by CDPHE

​Last month, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released statistics for the medical marijuana registry showing a roughly 20 percent decrease in patients from August to September. At the time, it was anybody's guess as to what caused the drop off. But an announcement fro ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Physician assistants the cause of delayed applications?

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced last week that as many as 4,000 medical marijuana patient applications and renewals were being held up in order "to ensure patients and physicians are within guidelines." Despite the CDPHE's vagueness, we've learned that many ... More >>

Med. marijuana patients must wait 6 months to reapply if applications found to be "fraudulent"

​Update below: Our William Breathes has been closely following the fate of approximately 4,000 medical marijuana applications put on hold by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, reportedly over concerns that physician assistants, not doctors, conducted examinations. The CD ... More >>

Medical marijuana: CDPHE stats show 40,000 patient dip in registry

​As of the end of October 2011, the medical marijuana registry had only 88,872 patients with an active red card. That's the fewest number of patients in the state since May 2010. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released the October stats late last week, showing a decl ... More >>

Medical marijuana: CDPHE's Dr. Chris Urbina on physician assistants, patient denials

​By mid-January, as many as 4,200 potential medical marijuana patients will be told they are as much to blame for a "fraudulent" MMJ application as the doctor who signed off on a physician assistant's evaluation of that patient. The punishment? Waiting six months before they can apply again fo ... More >>

Med. marijuana lawyer: Health dept. can't deny cards over physician assistants

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has announced that it may deny thousands of medical marijuana applications over questions about whether physician assistants did exams -- a policy CDPHE's Dr. Chris Urbina reiterated in a recent interview. But MMJ lawyer Rob Corry calls ... More >>

Medical marijuana: 4,200 patients seen by physician assistants being denied and rejected

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has finally started denying and rejecting the 4,200 medical marijuana patients who were evaluated by a physician assistants and have been waiting for as long as four months for an answer. And as if the delay so far wasn't bad enough, m ... More >>

Photos: Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America rally at state health department

Vincent Palazzotto.​As part of a Medical Marijuana Day of Action prompted by U.S. Attorney John Walsh's seizure letters to 23 dispensaries near schools, the Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America (MMAPA) held a rally outside the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, wh ... More >>