Just over one year ago, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was openly opposed to marijuana legalization.

Speaking at an October 2014 debate in the closing days of his campaign for a second term as governor, Hickenlooper took aim squarely at legalized weed, saying, "If it was up to me, I wouldn't have done it, right? I opposed it from the very beginning. In matter of fact, all right, what the hell — I'll say it was reckless."

Although he went on to narrowly defeat his Republican rival, Hickenlooper's position on marijuana, at least publicly, remained firm after getting sworn in for his second term.

Quite a bit has changed in the past year.

The locals around the mountain town of Nederland, Colorado, have been raising some of America’s best homegrown cannabis since the '60s. “There are a lot of fragrant tool sheds and storerooms around here,” one local farmer told Leafly during a recent visit. When legalization arrived two years ago, Nederland was ready. The 1,500 residents in this former mining outpost, 8,233 feet high in the Rockies, support two grow supply stores, an uncounted number of commercial grows, two retail cannabis shops, and the state’s first licensed cannabis consumption club.

Despite what the Big Pot lobbyists claim, the evidence is starting to mount that Colorado's experiment with legalized marijuana has led to increased crime in the state.

According to the latest 2014 Crime in Colorado report by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the crime rate – based on arrests statistics – increased 9 percent from 2013 to 2014.  But that is only part of the story.

Looking back on the crime rate data over the preceding decade, the state's crime rate was rapidly declining (by 32 percent overall) from 2004 through 2012.  Since 2012, the crime rate has increased more than 21 percent.

It's never been done before. A vaporizer system that operates on single-serve pods filled with cannabis. CannaKorp recently announced the launch of CannaCloud™ , which has been described as the Keurig of Cannabis. 

Road trip!

With a marijuana legalization measure likely headed to the ballot next fall, the state Senate’s Special Committee on Marijuana is planning a visit to Colorado in January to grapple with what may lay ahead.

Senator Jason M. Lewis, a Winchester Democrat who chairs the committee, says the panel will be meeting with state officials, law enforcement, and industry players, among others.

The delegation, he said, will not be sampling the product: “I don’t think that will be required.”

The committee will take a close look at how Colorado, one of four states that has legalized the drug, handles some tricky public policy questions: regulating home grows, responding to “drugged driving,” and curbing youth consumption.

DENVER – A marijuana infused manufacturing facility is voluntarily recalling marijuana products due to the presence of potentially unsafe pesticide residues in products samples, Denver Environmental Health said Tuesday in a press release.

The EdiPure recall affects 7,770 units of 17 different products, including a variety of infused candy products.

Contaminated hash oil was used to produce a variety of EdiPure candies, some of which tested positive for one or more of the following: Myclobutanil, Avermectin, and Imidacloprid – which cannot be legally used on marijuana in Colorado.

DEH said the products were widely distributed to store locations around the state. So far, there have been no reports of illness.

For the 10th time in three months, a Colorado marijuana company is voluntarily recalling pot products because they contain potentially dangerous pesticides — chemicals that “constitute a threat to the public safety” when applied to cannabis, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper wrote in an executive order in mid-November.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC PINK: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabinoid-based formulation, announces the launch of their cannabinoid-formulated capsule product line. The initial capsule formulations released are CBD, Indica, and Sativa; each of the three types of caps will be available in 25mg, 50mg, and 100mg doses and will be provided in two-dose packs with more size options to be made available in the near future.

TAMPA, Fla.--As Neutra Corp. (OTCQB: NTRR) continues working to deliver safer, better solutions for cultivators across North America, cannabis businesses and state agencies are still grappling with the use of potentially harmful pesticides in the nascent industry. A recent independent study found dangerous levels of pesticides in cannabis products in Denver.

“Recalls are bad for the entire industry”

Can Colorado issue a water right to irrigate marijuana plants when federal law still says that growing pot is a crime? That’s the question being asked by a division engineer and a water referee in Div. 5 water court in Glenwood Springs in response to a water rights application filed by High Valley Farms, LLC. 

“Even though the cultivation of marijuana and the sale of marijuana is legal in the state of Colorado, because it is still not legal under federal law, this question is still out there — whether beneficial use includes any use that is not legal under federal law,” said Alan Martellaro, the division engineer in Div. 5. 

Martellaro said a water right in Colorado can only be issued if the water is being put to a beneficial use, such as irrigation.