Battenfeld: Shannon O’Brien’s surprise suspension creates more turmoil in $3 billion pot industry
O’Brien’s ouster – which sounds permanent and ominous – signals new turmoil ahead for the CCC and the already reeling cannabis industry.
The Cannabist Network
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Up in smoke: Cannabis Commission to meet without suspended chairwoman
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On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Deb Goldberg temporarily removed pot boss Shannon O’Brien from her post just a year after the former gubernatorial candidate took the job steering marijuana policy for the state.
Pot smell and safety concerns ignite disputes over public smoking
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The debate over public consumption has grown since 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana but with widely varying regulations.
Pot boss O’Brien apologizes as Massachusetts weed sales hit all-time high
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Cannabis board boss Shannon O’Brien is apologizing for her recent outburst saying she was too blunt in saying the state’s legal weed rollout was in a “crisis.” It came on the same day the commission announced the Bay State has hit a new one-month high in legal weed sales — $136 million in July.
Editorial: At $181K, Massachusetts pot boss no bargain
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Taxpayers shouldn’t need to watch a career politician prove what we’ve known for a long time — most of the executives in the state could go and we wouldn’t miss them.
Denver issues ticket, warning letters to unlicensed cannabis hospitality businesses
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Eight businesses received warnings for hosting marijuana-related activities in Denver without the required license, with a separate ticket issued to cannabis lounge Tetra Lounge.
Marijuana emergency department visits for children, teens have spiked since the pandemic started: CDC
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Marijuana emergency department visits for children, teens and young adults have spiked since the start of the pandemic more than three years ago, according to new data from the CDC.
Dispensary buys former South Broadway firehouse for $3M
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Wellness Center of the Rockies, also known as The Center, recently purchased a former firehouse at 600 S. Broadway for $3 million.
Colorado’s marijuana industry calls this year’s 4/20 sales “the worst” in recent years
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Colorado’s marijuana industry dubbed total weed sales for this year’s 4/20 “the worst” in five years.
Pot cafe pilot program scrapped, regulators green light statewide approach
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“Our feeling is that eliminating the pilot program will help us dive into building that licensing and regulatory framework.”
Sununu shifts to back legal pot in Granite State
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A shift by Gov. Chris Sununu’s to support marijuana legalization has inspired a last-minute push for new legislation.
Massachusetts pot shops closing in Worcester, Framingham, Northampton; a worker had died after packaging cannabis into pre-rolls
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Trulieve Cannabis Corp. recently announced that the marijuana giant will be winding down its operations in Massachusetts. The company’s dispensaries in Worcester, Framingham, and Northampton will close at the end of June.
Denver weed lounge could reopen next month, inviting locals for a toke in the consumption garden
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Think of it like a beer garden, but instead of drinking alcohol, guests smoke weed.
Colorado’s cannabis industry has fallen on hard times. What does the future hold?
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The heyday of marijuana sales in Colorado — back in 2020 when recreational and medical sales topped out at a combined $226 million — is a distant memory, as the state’s dispensaries struggle through an economic downturn, with sales plummeting and small businesses foundering.
Judge rejects lawsuit seeking to block Bonnie Brae’s first pot shop
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A Denver judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by eight people who live near Bonnie Brae, clearing the way for that neighborhood’s first dispensary to open next month.
Editorial: Kids can’t tell candy from edibles – that’s a problem
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If there’s one thing the Massachusetts State Legislature loves to do, it’s legalize ways for people to get high.
New Denver weed lounge aims to reinvent nightlife with tableside bong service
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The aesthetic and amenities will be specifically curated to attract women and gay individuals, as well as the canna-curious looking for a comfortable environment where they can try some of Colorado’s locally grown herb.
Tableside bong service? A Denver weed lounge aims to reinvent nightlife
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Cirrus Social Club aims to be the “Ritz Carlton of the cannabis industry,” serving high tea by day and snacks-plus-smokes at night.
Nearly a decade after recreational cannabis sales began in Colorado, Golden takes its first rip
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Golden expects to collect $600,000 in marijuana excise tax revenue in 2024, the first year it will have all four shops open and selling.
A pair of big-name rappers will highlight Mile High 420 Fest
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Look ma, no hands!
Boston school student ingests pot-infused chocolate bar, taken to hospital
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One city student at the Tobin K-8 School was rushed to the hospital and others were evaluated by the school nurse after eating pot-infused chocolate bars.
Colorado’s first licensed cannabis-consumption bus rolls out this week
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Colorado’s first legal cannabis party bus is preparing to roll up and roll out on the streets of Denver, offering shuttle services to and from Denver International Airport as well as curated tours throughout the Mile High City.
A new way to get high: Harpoon launches THC beverage ‘Rec. Weed’
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Rec. Weed, Harpoon’s newest venture, is a non-alcoholic, low-calorie beverage featuring tropical juiceness and citrusy hop notes, leaving a clean and crisp finish – a perfect way “to kick back at the end of a long day and unwind,” the brewery said in a release Wednesday.
Mile High 420 Fest returns in April, but you have to be 21 to attend
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Last year, Mile High 420 Fest promised it would impose an age limit at future events after fielding concerns from parents about open cannabis consumption onsite.
Massachusetts lawmakers file legislation to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, other plants
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Massachusetts lawmakers have filed bills to end arrests for psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, mescaline and ibogaine. This push for decriminalization at the state level comes after cities decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms and other entheogenic plants.
Massachusetts $181,722 pot boss past weeded out
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“Shannon O’Brien, in her personal capacity, does not have an ownership stake over this license any longer,” investigations staff reported to regulators.
Massachusetts adds marijuana education to driving school, the first recreational cannabis state to adopt curriculum
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Massachusetts is the first recreational-use cannabis state to adopt, “Shifting Gears: the Blunt Truth about Marijuana and Driving,” a AAA curriculum that educates teens about the risks of cannabis-impaired driving.
2 arrested in Tewksbury for alleged fentanyl trafficking
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TEWKSBURY — An investigation by the Tewksbury Police Narcotics Unit at a known hot spot for drug activity led to the arrest of two men on fentanyl trafficking charges on Thursday.
U.S. Senate rejects cannabis banking bill
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The latest effort to let legal cannabis business open checking accounts and accept credit cards has failed, due to U.S.
Editorial: Health studies cast shadow on weed
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Some health effects, such as brain development issues, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, have been studied.
Weedology 101: College cannabis classes spring up across Massachusetts
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“As a growing industry in Massachusetts, obviously, after legalization, the demand for jobs and highly qualified people skyrocketed — that what we were hearing from folks in the community businesses,” said Northern Essex Community College spokesperson Melissa Bouse.
Kremlin: Any talks about Griner swap must be confidential
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that “we always say that any contacts about possible exchanges can only be conducted in silence under a tight lid on any information.”
As harvest season winds up, many cannabis companies prefer to grow outdoors, despite challenges
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Those who grow outside — including with greenhouses — point to plenty of benefits. Lower startup and operational costs allow them to increase their profit margins, while their operations have a lesser impact on the environment.
Biden pardons thousands for ‘simple possession’ of marijuana
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color.
Kamala Harris: ‘Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed, right?’
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“Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed, right?” she said, adding that governors and states should follow the president’s lead in offering pardons for state convictions.
Pot boss Shannon O’Brien affiliated license up for final approval, recusal promised
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The agenda for the state Cannabis Control Commission’s next meeting shows the pot-growing farm pitched in part by Chair Shannon O’Brien will soon appear before regulators for final license approval.
Cannabis Control boss Shannon O’Brien, paid $181,722, has business before her own board
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The state’s new pot boss Shannon O’Brien, paid a smoking $181,722 salary, has been involved in two applications for cannabis cultivation, according to documents reviewed by the Herald.
Ticker: Weed judges wanted for Cannabis Cup; Mt. Washington Observatory names new director
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Cannabis connoisseurs living in Bay State are invited to flex their taste buds in a competition to choose the People’s Choice awards in the state’s edition of High Times’ Cannabis Cup.
Colorado’s medical marijuana sales hit lowest point since legalization
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July’s medical marijuana sales only reached a little over $18 million – the lowest number ever recorded since January 2014
Bringing marijuana to Morrison — where Red Rocks concertgoers tailgate into the night — is harder than it seems
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Of the thousands of revelers who head up the hill from Morrison to Red Rocks Amphitheater to catch a show on any given night, many are likely high, about to get high or at least thinking about getting high.
LivWell to be Colorado cannabis giant after powerhouse PharmaCann plans to buy boutique chain
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Cannabis retailer LivWell Enlightened Health is set to dominate the Colorado market with 26 dispensaries after PharmaCann announced its plan to buy The Clinic, a boutique dispensary chain in the Centennial State.
Cannabis beverage business hit with $45K in fines for violations at Mile High 420 Festival
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Denver Packaging Company, which also operates as Keef Brands, admitted to seven violations on April 20, including unlawful acts, packaging and labeling
Ticker: Shannon O’Brien to chair pot commission; Job openings jump in July
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When the Cannabis Control Commission marks its five-year anniversary on Thursday, it will also get a new chairperson — former state Treasurer Shannon O’Brien.
Armentano: Marijuana potency warrants more education, regulation
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Ultimately, proposed product bans will only perpetuate the unregulated market.
Editorial: The kids are all right without marijuana in schools
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Why did Beacon Hill pols tuck a proposal to study giving students access to medical marijuana into cannabis reform legislation?
WNBA star Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian drug trial
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The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years that Griner had faced under the charges. Most Russians possessing small quantities of drugs get at most five years in prison, lawyers said.
WNBA’s Brittney Griner convicted at drug trial, sentenced to 9 years
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KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and smuggling and was sentenced to nine years behind bars in a politically charged case that could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
Boston Chinatown restaurant served up multimillion dollar money laundering operation, feds say
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A federal grand jury in Boston indicted eight alleged members of the conspiracy that the feds — which operated it under the moniker “Operation Good Fortune” — say funneled tens of millions of dollars in drug money and more in a gift card fraud scheme.
Opinion: Here’s a plan for Hancock’s last year in office — do no more harm
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If Denver’s future is anything like the present, the past would be an improvement.
Denver officials want to save struggling cannabis delivery businesses
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Weed delivery has yet to catch on in Denver, but government officials are pushing dispensaries to drop their resistance to save the transporter businesses of marginalized entrepreneurs.
