Colorado's film office is subsidizing a movie about marijuana, but officials are emphasizing that it is a star-driven romantic comedy in which the state's most controversial crop just happens to play a role.

Members of the Colorado Economic Development Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to offer as much as $600,000 in film incentives to "Miss Cannabis," a feature film slated to star Melanie Griffith as a Beverly Hills housewife who loses her fortune in a ponzi scheme and moves to her last remaining property, an old vineyard. Only when she gets there does she find that the land is being rented to hippies who use for growing marijuana.

Farmers who grow marijuana for Colorado's legal market are running into problems as they try to control mildew and pests. Because of the plant's illegal status at the federal level, a main source of agricultural guidance isn't available to pot farmers.

Attempts to regulate marijuana production often hit another problem, as the plant's wide range of uses sets it apart from many traditional food crops.

"You don't smoke tomatoes, you don't smoke grapes," John Scott of Colorado's Department of Agriculture tells the AP. "You don't extract those into oil products that'll be either used through dermal products, through lotions, or infused into other foods."

The top moving destination in 2014 was Oregon, which voted to legalize marijuana last November.

When choosing retirement locales, a few factors pop to mind: climate, amenities, proximity to grandchildren, access to quality healthcare.

Chris Cooper had something else to consider – marijuana laws.

The investment adviser from Toledo had long struggled with back pain due to a fractured vertebra and crushed disc from a fall. He hated powerful prescription drugs like Vicodin, but one thing did help ease the pain and spasms: marijuana.

Marijuana’s prolonged illegal status continues to impede on the growth of the industry, even in states that have already legalized pot for recreational use, such as Washington and Colorado. Due to a lack of reliable research on the cultivation of marijuana crops, growers are struggling with which pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides to use without compromising the safety of a product many Americans use.

A Colorado-based marijuana grower looking to enter New York's medical pot market - and open a dispensary in Brooklyn - was flagged by Denver health officials for potentially dangerous levels of pesticide in its plants.

Mindful Medical, which has applied for a license in New York, was one of 11 growers to have holds placed on the use of their plants this spring after inspectors from Denver’s Department of Environmental Health found high pesticide levels, said city spokesman Dan Rowland.

“The city Department of Environmental Health determined that some of the treated plant material could be a health risk,” Rowland said.

Two companies are teaming up to make it easier for pot businesses to track their products and comply with regulations, which may finally persuade banks to work with entrepreneurs in the industry.

The cannabis industry still has a banking problem. Although a growing number of states have legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana, it is still illegal under federal law. This makes most banks apprehensive about serving pot businesses.

VAIL — The temporary ban on retail marijuana in Vail could be permanent in a matter of weeks.

Just two weeks after the Vail Town Council passed yet another extension of a 2014 moratorium banning marijuana businesses, the council Tuesday night will consider the first reading of a permanent ban. That ban could be overturned by a future town council.

While 2012’s Amendment 64 legalized recreational use and sale of marijuana, the amendment gives towns and counties the ability to impose bans on retail operations. Several towns and counties have taken that step. Locally, retail operations are allowed in unincorporated Eagle County and the town of Eagle. Sales are allowed in Red Cliff, but there have been no applications there.

America’s first ever ad for a marijuana product has been pulled because of concerns about its legality.

The 15-second commercial for Neos, a company which makes “vape pens” infused with cannabis oil had planned to run the ad on the Denver based TV channel KMGH, in Colorado.

The state changed its laws in 2013, allowing adults aged 21 and over to grow and legally possess small amounts of Cannabis and providing licenses for cultivation, manufacturing and testing facilities as well as shops to sell it in.

Marijuana ads are legal in the state but they can only run if 70 per cent of the audience is over 21, so the 15-second spot was planned to go out before late night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” 

Washington's voters legalized recreational marijuana the same day that Colorado's did, but so far that state has been far behind Colorado in creating the infrastructure for the new industry.

Far behind in most ways, that is: Last week the Colorado Board of Health again rejected adding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of conditions for which medical marijuana can be prescribed, but Washington will be approving PTSD on July 24.

By Hilary Bricken, Canna Law Group

Earlier this year, a Colorado cannabis company instituted a successful statewide recall of one of its marijuana-infused products and another Colorado cannabis company had a similar recall last summer. Whether you’re a marijuana producer, manufacturer, or a retailer, now is the time to establish a reliable and effective recall procedure.

My firm has blogged before about products liability and the cannabis industry, and we all know it’s just a matter of time before a plaintiff successfully sues a marijuana company for injuries caused by a defective marijuana product.