(Denver Post file)

Tweetcap: Who said what at Denver Post pot forum?

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By , The Cannabist Staff

“If it’s weed, it leads,” Denver city attorney Scott Martinez said in his opening statement at The Denver Post Marijuana Forum on June 17, 2014 — as echoed in the above tweet, by Yale student @mdnsk.

The forum, moderated by Post editorial page editor Vincent Carroll, took over the auditorium at The Post’s downtown Denver office from 6-7:30 p.m. on the 17th with panelists from the public and private sector.

Watch the full archived video of the forum here. But until you have 90 minutes for the whole panel discussion, here are some of the more interesting take-aways from the event.

Panelist Dr. David C. Goff is dean at the University of Colorado School of Public Health.

Panelist Andrew Freedman is the director of marijuana coordination in Colorado.

“Where are we today?” asked Freedman, who referred to his state-government role as “agnostic.” “The sky hasn’t fallen, but we’re a long way from knowing the unintended consequences.”

Panelist Gina Carbone is a founding member of Smart Colorado, a non-profit dedicated to minimizing the negative consequences of legalized marijuana for Colorado’s youth.

Panelist Christian Sederberg is a partner in the law firm of Vicente Sederberg and was on the executive board for the Committee for Responsible Regulation.

“The perception of harm related to marijuana goes down when you’ve been systematically lied to for decades on what the actual harms are,” Sederberg said regarding cannabis’ declining perception of harm among teenagers. “One would expect the perception of harm to reduce.”

Says Freedman:

Says Martinez:

“We have a chance to — while we’re in the eye of the media, while the world is looking at us — take some reasonable, measured steps so that, as we go down the road of robust regulations of this important industry, we do so in a responsible way and in a way that really puts the onus on a shared responsibility between the city, the state and those members of the community.”

Says Sederberg:

Says Carbone:

“They should limit the types of products that can be made into a marijuana edible,” Carbone said, mentioning that infused pasta sauces and salad dressings seemed like too much.

Says Goff:

Says Sederberg:

“The Colorado model of medicalization and legalization is a model that is designed around continuous input and continuous adjustments.”

Says Carbone:

Says Freedman:

“Hash oil fires will continue to be a conversation,” he said, regarding the many explosions at homes and hotels caused by unregulated attempts to make THC concentrates.

Says Martinez:

Says Sederberg:

“It’s a very controversial issue,” he said, regarding Colorado’s current method of determining a driver’s impairment levels based on the THC in their blood. “The potential and actual injustice that occurs is when you have a medical marijuana patient who has a baseline above what those limits are … It’s a real problem in terms of evaluating whether someone is impaired.”

Says Goff:

Says Freedman:

“It sounds like a lot of money,” he said, regarding the nearly $18 million in medical and recreational marijuana taxes collected in January-April. “But in a $7 billion budget it’s not enough to move the needle on education and transportation.”

Says Carbone:

Says Martinez:

“We don’t have enough data yet,” he said, regarding legal marijuana sales’ impact on Colorado’s image. “We have anecdotes, folks who are here for conventions who see marijuana permeating everything they see about Colorado. Others say, ‘I expected to see a lot more.’ It’s important how we are perceived throughout the country.”