Jacqueline Collins
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Cannabis doesn’t pull as much attention at the State Capitol as it used to, but lawmakers are still reacting to federal movement around the plant and setting trends for other states to follow. Colorado is over twelve years into recreational cannabis sales, the longest run in the country, and issues keep cropping up, involving everything from public consumption to tax policies.
Six weeks into the 2026 legislative session, three bills have been introduced that could bring major changes to cannabis consumers and business owners, including the prospect of weed-friendly special event permits, allowing medical marijuana inside hospitals, and significant updates to taxes on the wholesale market. One of these proposals has already passed several hearings and has a good shot at passing, and there are murmurs of more marijuana measures on the way.
While we wait for the smoke to clear, here’s everything we know about what’s in front of lawmakers so far.
Medical Marijuana in Hospitals
A bill opening the window for medical marijuana use for terminally ill patients in Colorado hospitals, hospice centers and other health-care facilities has passed through the Senate, but the measure’s language gives health-care operators the ability to opt out of the proposed permissions.
According to a 2024 review in the National Library of Medicine, palliative care patients have shown a “growing interest in the use of cannabis for symptom management.” A 2022 piece in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management states that “positive treatment effects have been reported for some [medical cannabis] products in the palliative care setting,” but that “further high-quality evidence is needed” to support clinical use. A 2018 article in the Annals of Palliative Medicine notes that medical marijuana “will undoubtedly play a larger role in palliative care medicine in the years to come,” but adds that there are still “hurdles preventing a safe and unencumbered system of access for patients.”
Whether different factions in the science community agree with it or not, medical marijuana consumption is becoming more common among terminal patients. Senate Bill 26-007 would allow dying patients who are registered with the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry to use non-smokable and non-vapable forms of cannabis at health-care facilities that decide to opt into the new law. Their rights would be “subject to certain parameters,” according to bill drafters, and the law would protect facilities that allow patients such rights but not force compliance.
The measure was introduced by Senator Kyle Mullica, a registered nurse, on the first day of the legislative session. It passed through the Senate relatively quickly and is now awaiting a hearing before the House Health & Human Services Committee. However, SB 007 has also been amended four times to further clarify that hospitals and other care facilities will not be mandated to opt into the new law, and that facilities and employees that do allow patients to use medical marijuana will not be liable for problems that arise afterward.
If passed, the bill would require facilities that opt into allowing medical marijuana use to “develop and disseminate written guidelines” for staff, patients and their families, such as making sure the cannabis products are stored in a locked container. Under SB 007’s current wording, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment “shall not require compliance” as a condition to obtain or renew a state license, and facilities may “suspend compliance” if a federal agency initiates an enforcement action or notification.
With the federal government instructed by President Donald Trump to reclassify cannabis to a Schedule III drug in December, that system could soon be slightly less obstructed.
More Cannabis-Friendly Events
Colorado’s cannabis dispensary scene is robust, with nearly 700 licensed recreational stores — over 100 in Denver alone. Finding a place to legally light up is much more difficult, though, with just four licensed and operating lounges in the state, all of them in Denver. The reasons behind this are varied and complicated, but largely boil down to restrictive state and local cannabis hospitality laws as well as a lack of proven business models for cannabis-friendly consumption spaces. Cannabis event organizers, business owners and even notable chefs have argued on behalf of temporary event permits to make public pot-friendly gatherings more flexible and easier to hold in Colorado, but to no avail.
House Bill 26-1117 would create such permits for special cannabis events at the state level with the Marijuana Enforcement Division, but the proposal is struggling to gain support inside and outside the community.
The lone sponsor at the moment is Representative Naqetta Ricks, who introduced a similar bill last year that died in its first committee hearing. Although this year’s version is more focused and would only apply to local governments that opt into pot hospitality, no organizations or businesses have registered in support of HB 1117, not even outfits in the cannabis space.
The measure would allow licensed cannabis brands, such as growers, extractors, edibles companies and dispensaries, to participate in and throw cannabis-friendly events, but only if a licensed cannabis hospitality business owner is also involved — and in the City of Denver, you must meet social equity provisions until 2027 to obtain a new cannabis license. Industry powers and the majority of event promoters aren’t on board, because the bill would essentially force most cannabis business owners to either partner with a hospitality licensee or hope that Denver’s social equity requirements expire next year and then apply for a hospitality license each year thereafter.
Sarah Woodson, a licensed cannabis tour service owner and social equity advocate, says that “every license should be a part” of temporary events. “If we’re going to have temporary events that aren’t authorized, why not have a way to do that legally and allow people in charge of these businesses to make money?” she asks.
According to Woodson, industry members and bill proponents also dispute whether to allow cannabis sales and samples; as currently written, HB 1117 would not allow sales or samples at temporary events. The measure’s first hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, with the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee.
Changing Taxes on Cannabis Growers
Wholesale cannabis taxes, or excise taxes, generate millions in revenue each year in Colorado. These tax rates are ultimately determined by the median price per pound of cannabis, which is known as the average market rate. The AMR for pounds of retail weed is set each quarter by the Colorado Department of Revenue, with growers charged a 15 percent tax on each sale of plant material to a dispensary or extraction facility based on the AMR number.
Although the DOR and MED differentiate between cannabis flower, trim and seeds when collecting taxes, there is no difference in the rate between indoor and outdoor flower for many businesses. And since outdoor flower is sold at a significantly lower price than indoor, some lawmakers want to rethink the system via House Bill 26-1077. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship in the House, with a first hearing on February 26.
Apothecary Farms is the driving force behind the measure. The company has six dispensaries in Colorado, and grows most of its cannabis at a large outdoor operation in a small town south of Pueblo, with a large extraction arm for hash and vaporizer production as well. Vertical integration keeps production costs low, but marketing director Brent McDonald says the state’s tax rates charge Apothecary as if it grows indoor cannabis. According to McDonald, indoor cannabis currently sells for an average of $700 to $800 in Colorado, while outdoor goes for closer to $300 to $400. As of December, the AMR for pounds of cannabis flower was $648, the lowest ever since recreational sales began in 2014. But it’s also close to double what most outdoor flower sells for.
“Indoor is getting a better end of the deal, because their rates are being dragged down by outdoor,” McDonald argues.
The Epic Remedy, a Colorado Springs dispensary chain with four stores, is the only cannabis business currently registered in opposition to HB 1077 with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.
