Bill Banning EBT Use at Dispensary ATMs Moves to Governor

The Colorado Legislature has passed a bill on to Governor John Hickenlooper that would prohibit use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards at ATMs at dispensaries and srip clubs. Introduced by Republican Senator Vicki Marble on January 14, the bill was given bipartisan approval on Tuesday in the Senate, as amended in…

Denver City Council Approves 36-Plant Limit on Unregulated Pot Grows

The Denver City Council approved a plant limitation on non-licensed marijuana grows Monday night that could force many cultivating operations within city limits to shut down. A 36-plant limit in non-residential zone lots was approved 11-0— meaning any recreational co-op or medical marijuana caregiver over the mark will have to…

Kingston, Jamaica Mayor Comes to Denver to Learn About Legal Pot

The mayor of Kingston, Jamaica visited Denver over the weekend for some hands-on experience in the legal pot industry. Mayor Angela Brown Burke went on a two-day tour of Colorado marijuana business and met with law enforcement and policy makers from the Governor’s Office and Denver Mayor’s Office in an effort…

Marijuana Business Is America’s Fastest Growing, Says Industry Report

Marijuana is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. So says a new report by California’s Arcview Market Research. And while the study, spotlighted in a summary on view below, doesn’t exactly qualify as an objective third-party report (it was largely funded by cannabis-biz outfits, including several in Colorado), the…

Prison Video Visitation Biz Cashing In on Misery, Report Claims

Jails across America are turning increasingly to private companies to cure the headaches posed by family members seeking to visit incarcerated loved ones. But the solutions developed by the emerging “video visitation industry” come at a steep price — including the stiff costs shouldered by inmates’ families, complaints about poor…

The Year in Fracking: Quakes, Spills and Backroom Deals

The battle over fracking in Colorado continued to attract national media attention in 2014, and with good reason. The use of hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and gas, and the attendant debate over economic benefits versus possible health and environmental risks, has been playing out here with more twists and…

Colorado’s Worst Poaching Case and the Decline of Hunting

A few weeks ago a 56-year-old hunting guide on the Western Slope was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for violations of the Lacey Act. Christopher Loncarich’s crime consisted of going to absurd lengths to insure that the slaughter of mountain lions and bobcats in Utah and Colorado would…