Author: John Ingold

State law enforcement officials today unveiled an indictment against an alleged large-scale marijuana-trafficking ring the officials say were using Colorado’s medical-marijuana laws as cover. It is the biggest pot operation to-date that officials have accused of exploiting medical-marijuana laws to shield black-market activities. Nine people were named in the 21-count indictment announced this morning by…

Medical-marijuana activists are up in arms over a new policy that requires patients who just applied to the state’s medical-marijuana registry to wait 35 days before they can shop at a dispensary. Matt Cook, the Department of Revenue enforcement official who oversees the state’s new medical-marijuana regulations, said the position paper, written Monday, solves the…

The State Board of Health rejected a petition Wednesday to add Tourette’s syndrome to the list of conditions for which patients can obtain medical marijuana. It was the first time in the 10-year history of Colorado’s medical-marijuana law that a petition to add a new condition had made it through the state health department’s review…

Cannabis advocates filed a petition Wednesday to include post-traumatic stress disorder on the state’s list of medical-marijuana-approved conditions. The petition argues that medical-marijuana can help with PTSD — especially in veterans — by alleviating depression and anxiety and limiting nightmares. The petition was formally filed at the state Health Department today by Kevin Grimsinger, an…

As a cloud of skunky smoke wafted over a pro-marijuana rally across the street, lawmakers at the state Capitol on Tuesday battled over regulations for the medical- marijuana industry. The debate inside, where the full state House ultimately passed a bill to create rules for marijuana dispensaries, focused largely on the nuts and bolts of…

A Highlands Ranch man charged with a federal drug crime after showing a television news crew his large medical-marijuana garden was released from jail on bond Friday. Chris Bartkowicz, 36, walked out of the federal courthouse at about 11 a.m. this morning, wearing a sweatshirt, pants and sandals that a friend brought for him to…

State lawmakers today unveiled a bill that would make major changes to Colorado’s medical-marijuana industry, allowing retail-style dispensaries to remain open but forcing them to re-organize as licensed, non-profit “health centers.” The bill would also place an 18-month time-out on the opening of new commercial dispensaries and would require all dispensaries to grow the majority…

Wells Fargo & Co. — which medical-marijuana dispensary owners say is virtually the only bank in Colorado willing to take their business — has stopped opening new accounts for dispensaries. Cristie Drumm, a spokeswoman for the banking giant, said Wells Fargo is examining state and federal laws to determine what the bank’s risk is in…