Colorado cop Jim Gerhardt, whose state legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012, has a message for Massachusetts voters and lawmakers weighing whether the Bay State should do the same.

"My message is: Slow down. Study what's going on," he said after speaking with state legislators at the State House.

Gerhardt, an officer in Thornton, Colo., and vice president of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association, said marijuana is the "most highly regulated industry in the entire state" of Colorado.

In Massachusetts, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol hopes to place a measure legalizing marijuana on the November statewide ballot.

By Alibi Pierce

Cannabis Business Alliance applauds Colorado’s impressive growth while noting regulatory challenges ahead

DENVER, Colorado -- has released the cannabis industry sales report for 2015, with total sales reaching over $996 million, an increase of more than 42 percent over the previous year. The Cannabis Business Alliance (CBA) notes this impressive industry growth even as many of its members prepare for more regulatory challenges ahead.

Grass Station founder Ryan Fox applauds efforts in Denver and Washington, D.C. to consider the creation of private establishments, where cannabis enthusiasts can safely and legally consume in public.

Denver, Colorado -- The recreational use of marijuana has been legal in Colorado for over two years now, but cannabis enthusiasts in the state still face a lot of restrictions as to where they can smoke pot.

As Colorado’s website notes, “retail marijuana is intended for private, personal use” and that cannabis “may not be consumed openly or publicly.”

In four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State), retail sales of marijuana are both legal and taxable.  Of these states, Colorado was the first to implement sales and excise taxes on legal marijuana and now has over two years’ experience collecting those taxes.  The state is collecting roughly $90 million in marijuana excise taxes alone each year—an amount short of the $162 million it collects from cigarette taxes, but that far exceeds the $42 million it receives from taxes on alcohol.  When state-level sales taxes, license fees, and application fees are added to the picture, Colorado’s haul from marijuana taxes rises to roughly $130 million per year, with millions more flowing directly to local governments via their own sales taxes on marijuana.

Mieko Leads the Charge for Autism Treatment Advocacy as CBIS Initiates Cannabinoid Efficacy Testing to Spotlight Successful Treatments

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC PINK: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabis-based medicines, today announced its next critical ailment target is autism and brings Mieko Hester-Perez on its Scientific Advisory Board to lead this charge. Mieko gained significant recognition for bringing her son's success with medical cannabis to the public and birthing the significant "Joey's Strain." The Company has begun preliminary protocols to initiate formal studies with Mieko on autism in adults and children spotlighting successful treatments using cannabinoids.

A bill introduced to the state legislature in January would create a certification program for commercial marijuana growers to label their products "pesticide-free."

Applying pesticides off label is a federal offense and successful pest management should not require some of the pesticides used regularly in the industry and cited in recent Colorado recalls.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — Medical marijuana facilities in the area could be getting a new look. El Paso County is banning the use of green crosses on medical dispensary signs.

The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Feb. 5 to ban green crosses from medical marijuana dispensaries in non-incorporated parts of the county.

A white cross with a green background is the universal first aid symbol and county commissioners said younger people, those who move here for the military and tourists, are confusing medical marijuana shops for other medical services

Wiz Khalifa has announced plans to official start selling weed and not just smoke it…though that’s sure to continue as well. The rapper has partnered with Colorado-based RiverRock Cannabis to put his name on all things marijuana, including a strain all his own, called Khalifa Kush.