Colorado Department of Revenue

Amendment 64: Marijuana task force meets for the first time, plots "aggressive timeline"

When Governor John Hickenlooper signed Colorado's pot measure into law last week, he announced the creation of a task force dedicated to resolving the long list of unanswered questions about legalization. In its first meeting yesterday afternoon, the group debated the best path to consensus -- a pro ... More >>

Amendment 64 task force first meeting today: Welcome to the mild, wild West

A week after John Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 into law, and four days after President Barack Obama said that the feds have bigger fish to fry than prosecuting recreational users of pot in states that have made it legal, Colorado's Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64 will have its f ... More >>

Marijuana rescheduling not Amendment 64 "silver bullet," says Mason Tvert

Last week, a number of mainstream media outlets suggested that rescheduling marijuana might bridge the gap between conflicting state and federal laws following the passage of Amendment 64 -- this despite the fact that the federal government took nine months to shrug off Colorado's rescheduling sugge ... More >>

Amendment 64's Christian Sederberg upbeat about being named to marijuana act's task force

Word that Governor John Hickenlooper had signed Amendment 64 into law necessarily overshadowed the announcement of members assigned to a task force that will guide implementation of the act. But Christian Sederberg, who'll represent the A64 campaign in the group, thinks the process is off to a posit ... More >>

Amendment 64 is now law: Governor John Hickenlooper quietly signs measure

Ever since voters approved Amendment 64, Governor John Hickenlooper's office has been evasive about saying when he would ink the measure. But this morning, he quietly signed A64 into law -- an action followed by a strangely worded announcement on view below.

Marijuana: Amendment 64 blasted by Douglas County sheriff, Mason Tvert responds

The powers-that-be in Douglas County really, really oppose Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. Yesterday, the Dougco commissioners passed a strongly worded resolution against the measure, while Sheriff David Weaver launched a salvo that paints a world in which Amendment 64 is law ... More >>

Marijuana: John Suthers hits Silver Lizard dispensary with 59-count indictment

The office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has just announced a 59-count indictment against The Silver Lizard, a Denver medical marijuana dispensary reviewed in March by our MMJ critic, William Breathes. Among the claims: The center was selling marijuana for non-medical purposes to thirte ... More >>

Hash ruling in Montana unlikely to fly in Colorado, attorney says

Last week, a Montana court ruled that hash and concentrates are not legally defined in that state's medical marijuana laws and are therefore illegal for MMJ patients there to possess. According to Denver marijuana attorney Warren Edson, a similar situation isn't likely to occur in Colorado -- but th ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Nathan Do, target in Cherry Top Farms raid, killed in crash

One of the stranger marijuana stories of last year involved a federal raid on Cherry Top Farms dispensary -- one not prompted by an investigation into the center, but due to the targeting of Nathan Do, a man associated with a different MMC, who agents were following. Nathan, along with family member ... More >>

Marijuana: Elisa Kappelmann acquittal ends another wasteful pot prosecution, attorney says

Last month, attorney Rob Corry estimated that prosecutors had wasted $100,000 in its failed pot prosecution of Josh Jones -- a case he felt should have never been taken to trial. He sees similar prosecutorial wrongheadedness in the case of another client, Colorado Springs' Elisa Kappelmann, a licen ... More >>

Denver Police on inaccurate red-light-camera report, relationships with the media

Update: Last week, 9News aired a report noting that revenue figures from red-light cameras provided by Denver Police for a story last year were wrong -- very wrong. Turns out the DPD had touted the original report in a Twitter survey as much more fair than a photo-radar story on Fox31. And despite t ... More >>

Marijuana at the Crossroads: Event asks if MMJ lawyers are breaking oath

According to keynote speaker and DU prof Sam Kamin, "Marijuana at the Crossroads," a Sturm College of Law symposium that starts tomorrow (see the schedule below), aims to get beyond the usual pot palaver. Sample subject: Are attorneys breaking their professional oath simply by specializing in medic ... More >>

The Glendale SuperTarget, back in that town's good graces, expands its liquor aisle

​Because of Colorado's increasingly controversial liquor laws, only one outlet of any grocery chain -- Safeway, King Soopers, Target, Whole Foods and the like -- can sell full-strength beer, wine and alcohol. Target's spot is in the superstore in Glendale, but until recently, its single aisle ... More >>

Marijuana advocate seeks $ for HB 1284 suit, chides lawyers who pledged to sue but didn't

Kathleen Chippi.​Kathleen Chippi is among the area's most active medical marijuana activists; see a video of her below going after both current Denver mayoral candidate Chris Romer and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Her latest mission: to raise funds for a lawsuit to stop official imp ... More >>

Medical marijuana firm's cost to comply with regs (and explain to officials what it does): $8K

​Green Mountain Harvest's Susan Chicovsky is proud of her status as owner of the first medical marijuana harvest and trim company to be fully compliant with Colorado regulations. But the process was neither easy nor inexpensive. She estimates that she's spent $8,000 getting right with the stat ... More >>

KushConII to take medical marijuana seriously, says MMJ user/cancer patient Cheryl Shuman

Cheryl Shuman.​KushConII, December 17-19 at the Colorado Convention Center, has made news over its RTD bus ads, which have drawn protests from law-enforcement. But Cheryl Shuman, the event's international director of PR and media, would rather focus on the event itself, which she says takes me ... More >>

If you're underage, DPD warns against conceal carry alcohol

Dixons is pouring at 7 a.m. Saturday -- but not if you're underage.​You know the annual University of Colorado/Colorado State University drunkfest, er, football match at Invesco Field is upon us if downtown restaurants are expanding their hours -- Dixons, at 1610 16th Street, will be opening a ... More >>

Medical marijuana petition forces Broomfield council dispensary ban onto November ballot

Brian Vicente.​The Broomfield City Council recently voted to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the community rather than place the issue on November's ballot. That didn't sit well with MMJ advocates in the area, who launched a petition drive earlier this month. The goal: collect 1,300 sign ... More >>

Attorney General John Suthers has to admit: Medical marijuana can be taxed

"When I said, 'Put that in your pipe and smoke it,' I didn't mean it like that!"​Attorney General John Suthers has been the high-ranking state official most likely to imply that the sky is falling in relation to medical marijuana. No wonder he cheered a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in the ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: FU, Senator Brophy

According to state senator Greg Brophy's blog, "he's been called one of the most conservative members of the legislature and a Prius driving, bicycle riding, eco freak. You decide." But first read this, and you might come up with a couple of other descriptors. On April 24, he recounted the tale o ... More >>

Matthew Rosen arrested for selling meth from his Colfax cigar store

What's Knot to Love about getting some meth to go along with your stogie? Denver Police arrested a local businessman earlier this month for allegedly using his high-end cigar boutique on East Colfax to sell meth and other drugs. Matthew Rosen, 44, made an appearance in county court Wednesday on fi ... More >>

Helping Journalists Take the Jump

An organization called The Jump aims to assist veteran journalists who've left the daily newspapers, as well as those who fear the end is near.

Best of Westword Winners From 1986

Free Poker Tour Is a Dead Man's Hand

When these Amateur Poker Tour investors realized they'd been bluffed, they tried their hand at murder.

Carjacked

Car dealerships are seeing more guns coming onto their lots -- carried not by thieves, but by state inspectors. They want that policy holstered.

Parade of Groans

A luxury homebuilder's dispute with customers results in a felony charge.

Knock, Knock, Who's There?

These candy-selling kids aren't telling -- because they don't know.

Lost Identity

A crackdown on driver's licenses harms the homeless.

High Times

A paper with a big voice hails from one of the state's tinier towns.

Against the Odds

Referendum E is a sucker bet, but the state's hooked on lottery games.

The Mouth That Roared

Leonard's talking off the top of his head. Children, leave the room.

Big Wheel

Local Baptist preacher Acen Phillips has a passel of fancy cars and a devil of a history in court.

Moving Violation

A local mover and shirker hauls a load to bankruptcy court--for the sixth time.

Smooth Operator

Gene Kelley plugged into the lucrative pay-phone business--until someone dropped a dime on him.

Bad Connections

OUT OF JOINT

A LIQUOR LICENSE PROBE OF A WEBB AIDE'S TAXPAYER-FINANCED BAR SIZZLES, THEN FIZZLES.