Colorado has backed off a plan to require edible marijuana products to come with a stop-sign stamp.

State marijuana regulators released an updated proposal this week detailing the state’s upcoming requirement that pot-infused cookies, brownies and other foods have a distinct look when outside the packaging.

DENVER – When you speak with Tim Cullen, it’s immediately obvious that he knows a lot about the science of growing marijuana.

As the CEO of Colorado Harvest Company, he could probably talk nonstop about how he has perfected the grow operation at his massive Denver facility, which can hold about 8,000 medical and recreational plants.

And once you find out what he did for a living before starting to grow and sell pot commercially in 2009, his intense knowledge about the subject makes perfect sense.

The first two states to legalize recreational marijuana have collectively raked in at least $200 million in marijuana tax revenue, according to the latest tax data — and they’re putting those dollars to good use.

In Colorado, after about a year and a half of legal recreational marijuana sales, the state has collected more than $117 million in excise taxes from both the recreational and medical marijuana markets, according to the most recent data from the Colorado Department of Revenue. 

Here's an amusing byproduct of the legalization of marijuana use in some American states: it's putting a strain on the nation's freight network. The Wall Street Journal reportsthat Denver, a central hub for transportation of goods across the country, is experiencing a shortage of warehouse space due to increased demand from marijuana producers.

Entrenched stoner culture often treats newcomers with a raised eyebrow.

Maybe the old guard fears mainstream change and convention, and indeed progressive brands continue to modernize the culture with fresh ideas and innovations. The traditionalists represent the foundation, but what about the other 86 percent of cannabis consumers who have a more casual relationship with the plant? These individuals might not have the same High Times savvy, yet they certainly have a place in the rapidly evolving new marketplace.

BOULDER, Colorado -- Holly Alberti-Evans considers herself among Colorado’s marijuana business success stories. Healthy Headie Lifestyle, the in-home direct sales company for cannabis products she founded with her husband, Steve Evans, is growing, with a busy office in Boulder and an expanding team of independent distributors who demonstrate vaporizers to those Alberti-Evans calls the “canna-curious” in the privacy of their homes. (Hosts provide their own marijuana if they want to take the devices for a full test drive.) What’s more, Alberti-Evans is constantly fielding calls from those wanting to invest in the enterprise.

“We have had an overwhelming response,” says Alberti-Evans. “There is absolute excitement around our business model and everyone wants to participate.”

When I was a teenager, I bought pot whenever I wanted. As an adult, I worked to keep pot out of the hands of anyone under 21, and to make cannabis use as safe as possible for anyone 21 and over.

I've been a part of Colorado's legal cannabis industry since regulation was approved by our state's citizens in 2012. Since then, I've seen firsthand that two of the biggest public concerns -- that regulation makes it easier for children to access cannabis, and that regulation leads to a rapid increase in cannabis users -- simply haven't happened.

By RX MARYJANE

I’ve been fortunate to meet Carter Baird on a several occasions and am happy to say that he is a Cannabis Patients Ally. Already impressed by his intellect, I was happy to hear about his exciting video-blog adventure as The Pot Scientist.

In this piece, he makes a logical and reasoned argument about why the Colorado Board of Health should have decided to include PTSD as a condition for medical marijuana: research! 

As Carter says, “It’s not like anyone’s reputation was on the line because they DO NOT have randomized, double-blind clinical trials for the other listed conditions already approved. They’re not the FDA and they should stop acting like it.”

Colorado has brought in more than $60 million dollars in tax revenue off of marijuana during 2015. Marijuana may be considered “blood money” to Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, but people here on planet earth see that as a partial solution to a problem faced by many states; a strained budget.

Marijuana has helped improve Colorado’s infrastructure and future. During the first six months, the state received $16.6 million for school construction projects. Too bad Governor Christie is only worried about improving his budget instead of New Jersey’s.

Numbers do not account for ancillary businesses

As marijuana use becomes more acceptable, researchers are scrambling to answer key questions about the drug.

In 2013, Beau Kilmer took on a pretty audacious head count. Citizens in the state of Washington had just voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and the state's liquor control board, which would regulate the nascent industry, was anxious to understand how many people were using the drug — and importantly, how much they were consuming.