Colorado’s prohibition on publicly traded cannabis companies, which dates back to legalization and was previously preserved by former Gov. John Hickenlooper, is now a relic of the past.
Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation Wednesday ending the ban, opening up Colorado’s cannabis industry to outside investors for the first time. A publicly traded Denver company says it can now acquire two cannabis companies in the state, earning it millions of dollars in annual revenue.
“There are arguments to be made from both sides of this,” said Kris Krane, co-founder of the cannabis firm 4Front, which does not operate in Colorado. “I think there are some positives that are going to come from opening this up to public companies and there are probably some negatives as well.”
