Tom Massey

Film incentives: Bill signing means Colorado ready for its close-up

With a scribble of his ceremonial pen this morning, Governor John Hickenlooper set Colorado on a path not unlike that of the Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr. No, our fair state isn't going to rehab. Instead, lawmakers, film-industry insiders and Colorado boosters hope that the beefed-up film inc ... More >>

Film incentives bill green-lighted by lawmakers: Welcome, filmmakers!

Welcome to Colorado, Hollywood! The word from the Senate Majority Office is that House Bill 1286 -- better known as the film incentives bill -- has passed the Senate, its last hurdle before reaching the governor's desk. The bill increases the cash rebate offered to filmmakers from 10 percent to 20 p ... More >>

Medical marijuana patient money to fund MMC enforcement under new proposal

The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is in dire financial straits. However, Representative Beth McCann of Denver says she has a plan for medical marijuana patients to bail out the MMED using leftover money they paid to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Film incentives: House lawmakers approve $3 million to fund moviemaking in Colorado

Colorado is one step closer to (hopefully) dominating the silver screen once again. Today, the House Appropriations Committee approved $3 million to fund a bill to increase the state's film incentives. As explained in our cover story, "The Reel West," the number of movie cameras pointed at Colorado ... More >>

Child near-fatalities: Bill requires state to review them and release info -- with exceptions

Lawmakers have passed a bill that would require the state to review cases of abuse that result in the near-fatality of a child. The bill also requires review of "incidents of egregious abuse or neglect," a more amorphous category that the state Department of Human Services, which backed the bill, sa ... More >>

Tom Massey wins Governor's Hall of Fame Award for showing movies love

Tom Massey.​ Local filmmaker Daniel Junge was a big winner last night, snagging an Oscar for his documentary, Saving Face. But before the crowd at the Denver Film Society's Oscar Night America party erupted in cheers, movie lovers gave a round of applause to Representative Tom Massey, who won ... More >>

Film incentives bill clears first hurdle, passes House committee

A bill to increase Colorado's film incentives has won its first victory, passing the House Economic and Business Development Committee by a vote of nine to three. Though the victory celebration came up short when compared to the exhausted jubilation at the end of the best movie ever, Rocky, the two ... More >>

Movies in Colorado: Industry, politicians rally for bill to increase filmmaker incentives

On a small stage on the steps of the Capitol this morning, surrounded by more than a hundred local film industry folks, House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino ticked off movies made in Colorado: City Slickers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and one he called "the seminal piece of film work that r ... More >>

Remedial college courses: More Colorado students need them, report shows

More Colorado college students are taking remedial courses once they arrive on campus, according to a report released today. In the 2010-11 school year, 31.8 percent of recent high school graduates were placed into a remedial course, as opposed to 28.6 percent in 2009-10. The remediation rate for st ... More >>

Trans fat ban in schools: Senator Lucia Guzman on nation's toughest bill

Flickr​This afternoon at the Colorado state house, the agriculture, natural resources and energy committee will consider what's being characterized as the nation's toughest ban of trans fat at schools. Senator Lucia Guzman is surprised by all the attention the measure has received to date, in ... More >>

Medical marijuana financial co-op bill to move ahead despite risk of federal action

U.S. Attorney John Walsh's crackdown on pot shops near schools is a reminder that marijuana remains federally illegal regardless of laws in Colorado allowing its use for medical reasons. But Senator Pat Steadman, who previously criticized Walsh's action as an intrusion on state law, is committed to ... More >>

Liberty Watch announces ten Colorado Republican leaders as Guardians of Liberty

Colorado Republicans are the Guardians of Liberty, according to Liberty Watch, an organization holding elected officials accountable for the organization's proposed "Principles of Liberty." Early this morning, Liberty Watch held an awards ceromony honoring ten Republicans from the Colorado Legisla ... More >>

Medical marijuana financial co-op proposal poised to move forward

Members of the medical marijuana biz have been complaining for years about the difficulties inherent in obtaining banking services in an industry that the federal government considers illegal -- and Senator Pat Steadman has sought a fix for nearly as long. Now, on day one of Colorado's legislative s ... More >>

Tom Massey named politician of the year by Colorado Pols

Denver blogs is back from a well-deserved winter break. Colorado Pols names Tom Massey, a Republican from Poncho Springs, its top politico of 2011 for striking a bipartisan chord in the face of Tea Party tumult. At Square State, WeatherDem offers a climate change primer. Denver Egotist reviews 20 ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Could loophole in new law give Big Pharma foothold in Colorado MMJ biz?

​Large pharmaceutical companies could potentially make billions if marijuana is legalized in the United States. But could Big Pharma enjoy a windfall in Colorado right now? A clause of HB 1043, the MMJ cleanup bill signed by Governor John Hickenlooper last week, contains a potential loophole a ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Does U.S. Attorney John Walsh's letter signal end of federal MMJ truce?

John Walsh.​HB 1043, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom Massey and Senator Pat Steadman to clean up last year's medical marijuana regulations, seemed to be quietly moving toward passage -- but no more. A letter from U.S. Attorney John Walsh attacking aspects of the legislation call into qu ... More >>

Medical marijuana letter from U.S. Attorney worrisome to business, says Sen. Pat Steadman

Pat Steadman.​Earlier today, we shared a letter from U.S. Attorney John Walsh attacking elements of HB 1043, a bill intended to clean up aspects of last year's medical marijuana legislation. Senator Pat Steadman, who's co-sponsoring the measure with Representative Tom Massey, confesses to bein ... More >>

Reader: THC impairment limit needed to save us from low-speed drivers eating Funions

Claire Levy.​Our recent interview with Representative Claire Levy about a bill to impose a THC driving-impairment limit prompted another hilariously sarcastic post from a previous Comment of the Day awardee (for a response to our conversation with Representative Tom Massey about a medical mari ... More >>

Reader: Medical marijuana should be outlawed so can people can get their drugs from gangs

Tom Massey.​Sarcasm can be an art form if wielded properly -- and one reader used this tool to do some damage this week. The post in question recently popped up on our interview with Representative Tom Massey about clean-up legislation for the medical marijuana industry.

Medical marijuana: Advocates differ about MMJ cleanup bill HB 1043 hearing (PHOTOS)

Big pics below.​Some very different takes on yesterday's judiciary committee hearing on HB 1043, a medical marijuana bill co-sponsored by Representative Tom Massey and Senator Pat Steadman. Jill Lamoureux, who also weighed in on a contentious health department advisory meeting, doesn't think t ... More >>

Medical marijuana HB 1250 bill would outlaw MMJ edibles: Read it here

​At 1:30 p.m. today, the public can comment on HB 1043, a medical marijuana bill described as a cleanup measure of last year's bill by its co-sponsors, Senator Pat Steadman and Representative Tom Massey. But the Cannabis Therapy Institute's Laura Kriho also plans to address HB 1250, a brand ne ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Brian Vicente on Wyoming ruling against MMJ patient, crime stats story

Brian Vicente.​Medical marijuana has been enshrined in the Colorado constitution since 2000, with a new MMJ regulatory law signed into law this past June and more medical marijuana legislation in the pipeline. But that's not the case in other states, as the Wyoming Supreme Court recently remin ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Tom Massey says HB 1043, new MMJ bill, should help law enforcement

Tom Massey.​HB 1043, a new medical marijuana bill, combines legislative cleanup efforts by Senator Pat Steadman and Representative Tom Massey, co-sponsor of the MMJ measure that became law in June. Steadman admits that he doesn't agree with everything in the bill at this point, and neither doe ... More >>

Medical marijuana: HB 1043 co-sponsor Pat Steadman not sure he agrees with entire bill

Pat Steadman.​Last week, we shared info about HB 1043, a new medical marijuana bill co-sponsored by Representative Tom Massey, who helped shepherd Colorado's main MMJ regulatory bill through the legislature and into law. Partnering with Massey is Senator Pat Steadman, who describes 1043 as a ... More >>

Top 25 marijuana stories in Colorado in 2010: The year in weed

​It's been a momentous year for marijuana in Colorado: landmark legislation, turf wars, huge profits, shocking arrests, enormous celebrations and more. Below, we've compiled links to and excerpts from 25 of the biggest weed stories to take place in the state during 2010. Page through and brea ... More >>

Chris Romer on medical marijuana residency rules, blocking felons and keeping prices down

Chris Romer.​Senator Chris Romer played an enormous role in Colorado's groundbreaking medical marijuana legislation. With the August 1 deadline for dispensary owners for file applications just days away, he feels pride in what the laws have already accomplished even as he's attempting to clear ... More >>

Everything goes when libertarian Christine Smith gets into politics

Medical marijuana bill changes rejected by House, special committee to be formed

Tom Massey's bill hasn't reached the finish line yet.​Earlier today, it seemed like HB 1284, the bill to regulate the medical marijuana industry, had cleared its highest hurdles. But more obstacles lie ahead. Today, Charlotte Jackson, assigned to the legislative bill room at the state capitol ... More >>

Medical marijuana bill passes Senate on second reading -- but obstacles remain

Matt Brown is in an upbeat mood.​Is HB 1284, the medical marijuana regulatory bill, on the cusp of passage? Could be. The state senate passed the bill on its second reading this afternoon, pushing it one crucial step closer to becoming law. As Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation's Mat ... More >>

Marijuana and massage therapy don't always go together

A Flickr photo"Before you ask, no, you can't have any weed."​Part of House Bill 1284, Representative Tom Massey's attempt to regulate the medical marijuana industry, states that "the act of supplying medical marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia, by itself, is insufficient to constitute 'signif ... More >>

Medical marijuana reform: How to make a dispensary nonprofit -- from the one woman in Colorado who's done it

​One of the most prominent and controversial aspects of Representative Tom Massey's medical marijuana bill is that it would require state dispensaries to become nonprofit centers. While it's hard to say whether this part of the legislation will stick around -- even the bill's co-sponsor isn't ... More >>

Medical marijuana arrest: Chris Bartkowicz bust DEA's declaration that drug war not over

Chris Bartkowicz, as seen on 9News, was punished for publicity.​Last week's DEA raid of Genovations, a Colorado Springs medical marijuana laboratory, was the second time in recent weeks that the agency had swooped in on a lab that had applied for a license in an attempt to prove its forthright ... More >>

Rob Corry says Chris Bartkowicz medical marijuana bust proof the DEA has gone rogue

Rob Corry doesn't want the DEA to go rogue anymore.​You didn't think attorney Rob Corry would remain silent after the Drug Enforcement Administration raid on the home of Chris Bartkowicz, did you? After all, Corry's among the most vocal of all Colorado's medical marijuana advocates, and if he ... More >>

Medical marijuana attorney Warren Edson on new law firm, new MMJ bill and new lawsuits to come

Warren Edson's booming business is about to boom even louder.​Attorney Warren Edson was practicing medical marijuana-related law before doing so was cool. And now, with the industry growing in Colorado like never before, he's expanding his operations by merging his practice with Kumin Sommers ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensaries aren't the only California businesses Colorado loves

A Flickr photoYou can get it all on the Venice boardwalk -- even your medicine.​ Did you know that today is officially Colorado Loves California Day? No joke. Well, actually, it sorta is one. This is the second year that Colorado has proclaimed its lust for the Golden State -- the idea being ... More >>

Marijuana legalization: Sensible Colorado's Brian Vicente wants to put it on state ballot in 2012

Brian Vicente thinks the time will be right in two years for statewide marijuana legalization.​In today's Denver Post, columnist David Harsanyi argues that the debate over medical marijuana is dishonest in part because advocates actually want legalization -- a goal that might be hurt by the pa ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensaries could pay Denver $2.5 million for pot

​"We know we're on the right track if nobody's happy," says state representative Tom Massey of his medical marijuana proposal, and he's right about one thing: No one's happy. Supporters of medical marijuana will be sharing their unhappiness at a Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation mee ... More >>

Rob Corry says new medical marijuana bill gave him a bad case of déjà vu

Rob Corry doesn't know if calling this bill "new" is truth in advertising.​Prominent medical marijuana advocates such as Matt Brown and Brian Vicente have already weighed in on the medical marijuana bill sponsored by Representative Tom Massey. But one of the most notable figures in the medical ... More >>

Tom Massey on his medical marijuana bill: "We know we're on the right track if nobody's happy"

Tom Massey's bill doesn't have John Suthers' s vote of approval.​When Representative Tom Massey spoke to Westword on January 15 about the medical marijuana bill he was assembling, he described dispensaries as "a loophole in the law" -- the kind of language that warmed the heart of Colorado Att ... More >>

Brian Vicente on new medical marijuana bill: If legislators don't take patient access into account, "the people will hold them responsible"

Brian Vicente sees some pros among the cons of the new medical marijuana bill.​Yesterday, we offered a sneak preview of a medical marijuana ballot initiative assembled by the advocacy group Sensible Colorado. That amendment will be formally made public by Sensible Colorado executive director B ... More >>

Medical marijuana bill threatens "Mom and Pop" dispensaries, says advocate Matt Brown

Matt Brown thinks the new medical marijuana bill has improved -- but it still has a ways to go.​When medical marijuana advocate Matt Brown spoke to Westword yesterday about Representative Tom Massey's new bill to regulate the industry, he hadn't seen the final document -- just a draft from lat ... More >>

Medical marijuana bill coming this afternoon to move away from dispensaries to clinics, call for one year "time out"

Rep. Tom Massey will be in the spotlight.​The medical marijuana community has been filled with a mix of anticipation and dread in regard to the contents of a measure being assembled by Representative Tom Massey intended to regulate the industry. Many fear what's become known as the law-enforce ... More >>

Advertising ban part of new medical marijuana bill?

Matt Brown sees good and bad in the upcoming medical marijuana bill.​A little over an hour ago, we posted a blog offering a sneak preview of Representative Tom Massey's bill to regulate the medical marijuana industry. Now, more details from another insider: Matt Brown, frontman for Coloradans ... More >>

Tom Massey, Chris Romer tout latest medical marijuana bill (again) while activists freak out (again)

State Senator Chris Romer was not expecting to fly solo.​State Senator Chris Romer (D-Buzz Kill Central) and Representative Tom Massey (R-Hiding in the Capitol Somewhere) teamed up today to introduce the latest attempt to reign in Colorado's medical marijuana industry, a bill the lawmakers say ... More >>

Boulder DA Stan Garnett: Additional medical marijuana legislation may be unconstitutional

Stan Garnett has doubts about additional medical marijuana legislation.​Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett is the rare public official who's willing to speak plainly about marijuana, medical or otherwise. Note that way back in September, he wrote that "legalizing marijuana entirely would ... More >>

Medical marijuana bill about doctor-patient relationship: "There's really very little in it," says advocate Matt Brown

Matt Brown isn't hitting the panic button.​Update, 1:10 p.m., February 1: The Colorado Senate has approved Senator Chris Romer's medical marijuana bill regarding the doctor-patient relationship 34-1. Read Matt Brown's take on the measure below: Like many other prominent figures in the medical ... More >>

Brian Vicente: Severe medical marijuana restrictions "will not be met kindly by the public"

Brian Vicente​Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado and co-chair of a new organization called Sensible Patient and Provider Coalition, is understandably pleased by the results of a new ABC/Washington Post poll showing that 81 percent of respondents supported legalizing marijua ... More >>

Medical marijuana bust in Brighton made possible by "emergency" moratorium

Photo by Coleen WhitfieldLine 'em up.​This weekend's medical marijuana arrests in Brighton, which cops describe as a pot "assembly line" involving a chiropractor, his wife and a caretaker, is only the latest incident playing into the hands of law enforcement types who want the sort of dispensa ... More >>

Representative Tom Massey: "We consider the dispensaries a loophole in the law"

Rep. Tom Massey has waded into the middle of the medical marijuana morass.​This week, Senator Chris Romer confirmed that he's ditched most of the elements in his long-in-the-works medical marijuana proposal in favor of a streamlined bill focusing on establishing what he calls "a meaningful doc ... More >>

Cannabis Therapy Institute calls Senator Chris Romer "wolf in sheep's clothing"

Photo by Robert FisherCTI doesn't think closing half of all dispensaries will help patients.​After Senator Chris Romer announced that he would be withdrawing most of a proposed bill aimed at regulating the medical marijuana industry, the Cannabis Therapy Institute, a prominent pro-marijuana or ... More >>