Larimer County Sheriff's Office via the Fort Collins Coloradoan

Earlier this week, we posted about two illegal marijuana grows found on federal land. Ten foreign nationals were busted in separate operations.

Now, Mario Garcia and six others are in custody on charges related to an illegal grow of their own — one they allegedly built up on private land they took over and tried to hang onto via a complicated scam backed by threats and a pit bull.

Once upon a time there was a pretty girl and a funny boy who fell in love. Like every young couple, they dreamt about making a big wedding party to celebrate their union. Church, bride dress, cake, dance floor and everything else that they could ask for. But there was something a bit weird in their dream… Instead of a regular bar, they wish to have a cannabar to give their guests some fun.

And so their wish came true…

No, this is not a children’s story, but could easily be a modern fairytale.

Brides and grooms, even ones who say they don’t partake often but want to be hospitable, are giving guests choices that are much different than the standard merlot or chardonnay. Now, the choice could be Tangerine Haze or Grape Ape.

The state of Colorado has proposed rules that would reduce the number of allowable pesticides used on marijuana from 200 to about 75. Those to be permitted are the least harmful and already allowed by federal regulators for use on food and tobacco crops.

The proposal was issued last week, according to the Denver Post, and limits pesticide use on pot to chemicals considered nontoxic or safe enough that they do not need to be tested or registered with the federal government -- which still considers pot an illegal drug.

Investors that shun traditional sin stocks (gambling, tobacco, alcohol, porn) will probably not be interested in marijuana stocks. Those that have no issues with making money on sin stocks may want to keep an eye on marijuana stocks in 2016, especially with more and more states permitting medical and recreational marijuana use.

Recreational Marijuana Sales Soar

Pot stocks became popular after Colorado allowed the recreational sale of marijuana on January 1, 2014 and Washington State on June 1, 2014. Marijuana popped back up on Wall Street’s radar last week when Oregon became the third state to allow the sale of it.

High Valley Farms has attempted several techniques to quell the odors coming from its cultivation facility that sits 20 miles north of Aspen, Colorado, amidst frequent grievances from next-door neighbors.

But doing so successfully proved hard, lengthy and expensive.

Up until now this year, it’s used a mist-vapor system and a dry-vapor system, both of which emit their own smells that some local residents discover offensive, creator and chief executive Jordan Lewis told county commissioners at a recent meeting. It likewise set up a hydroxyl system it hopes will remove smells before they get beyond the limits of its 25,000-square-foot greenhouse.

If additional tax revenues are the proverbial carrot-and-stick that will convince state legislators across the nation to buy into the idea of legalizing marijuana, then Colorado’s recent numbers are sure to have lawmakers frothing at the mouth. We’ve been aware the grand experiment that is marijuana legalization, playing out in both Washington and Colorado, has been a success on some level. But new numbers show states could benefit even more than anyone predicted.

Brandan Flores is a careful shopper. The 24-year-old raw vegan avoids chemicals and additives in the foods he eats, and he approaches his recreational marijuana purchases the same way. He asks budtenders about the cultivation practices behind the weed they sell and quizzes them on whether their marijuana concentrates are made using butane, carbon dioxide or water.

DENVER (Reuters) - Two Colorado marijuana users have sued a cannabis grower claiming a "patently dangerous" agricultural fungicide that becomes poisonous when ignited was applied without their knowledge to pot plants they later smoked, court documents showed on Monday.

Brandan Flores and Brandie Larrabee allege that distributor and retailer LivWell has for years applied Eagle 20, a fungicide that contains the chemical myclobutanil, to its marijuana crop. 

The fungicide is approved for certain edible agricultural crops, but not for smokable products such as tobacco, according to the complaint filed in Denver District Court.

"As such, persons who smoke cannabis that has been sprayed with Eagle 20 inhale ... poisonous hydrogen cyanide," the lawsuit said.

Wana Brands makes use of Colorado Cultivars’ hemp for WanaCapsXR

STONE, Colo., Oct. 5, 2015/ Weed Wire/– Wana Brands, a leading manufacturer of instilled products in Colorado, has actually partnered with regional industrial hemp business Colorado Cultivarsfor the production of WanaCapsxr, Wana’s brand-new extended release capsules.

Is commercially grown cannabis being tested for harmful contaminants or are there unexpected health risks associated with sparking some Colorado green?

It turns out it’s still optional to test Colorado’s medical marijuana for harmful substances, but that is set to change next year. Depending on their condition, medical marijuana consumers are more likely to have a reduced immune system, making them even more sensitive to contaminants.