The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana.

Hemp production was authorized by Congress in 2014. But farmers who want to grow it must have state certification to raise the crop. The industry estimates that fewer than 7,000 acres are being grown nationwide this year.

Colorado is the first state to certify hemp seed, which means the seed has been proven to be genetically pure and to produce hemp and not marijuana.

The seed certification “is vital to the long-term growth of the industry,” said Duane Sinning of the department that oversees the state’s 400 or so hemp growers.

“A farmer, he already takes a lot of risk dropping a seed into the ground, whether you’ll have enough water, all that,” Sinning said. “This crop is even riskier.”

Hemp production was authorized by Congress in 2014. But farmers who want to grow it must have state certification to raise the crop. The industry estimates that fewer than 7,000 acres of hemp are being grown nationwide this year.

Seed scarcity is cited as a major roadblock to the use of hemp becoming more widespread. Seed prices can start at $25 a pound and go up to more than a dollar for an individual seed.

If the seeds produce plants above 0.3 percent THC, they must be destroyed, leaving the grower with a total loss.

Agricultural researchers are intrigued by hemp’s commercial potential. Beyond health foods, hemp can be used in the production of fiber or pressed into oils used therapeutically. Plus, it is drought hardy.

“I’m standing in a field right now that is probably 4 to 5 feet, taller than corn … and was watered half as much,” Sinning said. “It is an excellent-looking crop out here.”

Farmers in the 29 states that allow hemp production under certain circumstances will be able to buy the certified seeds in 2017.

Colorado seed distributors, not the state, will set prices, though Sinning predicted they may be pricier than imported seeds because they’re certified.

Colorado has certified six separate varieties of hemp seeds, all tailored for the state’s high altitude, so officials aren’t sure how much interest seed distributors should expect from out-of-state hemp growers.

The post Colorado hits another cannabis 1st with certified hemp seed appeared first on Pot My.

The Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry Program

The CO Department of Public Health and Environment administers the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry Program. For a patient in CO to obtain a medical cannabis card they must be a CO resident. They must have one or more debilitating medical condition. And they must obtain a recommendation from a licensed doctor.

Medical marijuana patients in Colorado can legally obtain marijuana from a licensed dispensary, a registered primary caregiver, or self-grow.

What Conditions Qualify for the Medical Marijuana Program in Colorado?

Per the CO constitution, medical cannabis may be recommended to patients who have one or more of the following medical conditions:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Cachexia
• Persistent muscle spasms
• Seizures
• Severe nausea
• Severe pain

Will Conditions be Added to the List of Qualifying Conditions?

Since the Medical Marijuana Registry Program started, no new conditions have been added. There are currently no conditions pending approval.

Where are the legal cannabis dispensaries in Colorado?

As of August 1, 2016, there is 531 state licensed medical marijuana centers. The majority of licensed dispensaries are located in Denver.

What does a medical card get you at a CO dispensary?

A registered patient can obtain no more than two ounces of usable marijuana, and no more than six marijuana plants, three of which can be mature.

Where can you smoke?

Registered patients cannot smoke in the following places:

• Public transportation facilities
• Schools
• Amusement/sporting/music venues
• Parks
• Playgrounds
• Bars
• Restaurants
• Licensed dispensaries
  • While operating a motorized vehicle. (you may carry medical cannabis in your car, but it may not be in an open container or cross state boundaries)
• Airports

Are patients and caregivers shielded from discrimination?

Yes, the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry protects patients and caregivers from discrimination. The patient must specify their primary caregiver on their application.

What is the future of the Medical Marijuana in Colorado?

The rules and regulations regarding the CO Medical Marijuana Registry Program are always changing.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is currently in the process of making an online application available to patients. This is expected to be available in January 2017. Also, rules regarding the prohibition on edible marijuana products in the shape of human, animal or fruit are currently being formulated and will be effective October 1, 2017.

The post How to Qualify for Medical Marijuana in Colorado appeared first on Pot My.

The state released a report on Monday detailing changes in everything from cannabis arrests to tax collections to calls to Poison Control. Surveys given to middle-schoolers and high-schoolers indicate that marijuana use among youth didn’t rise significantly following the 2012 vote.

Among high school students, use went from 23% in 2005 to about 20% in 2004. Similarly, there was no significant change in use by kids younger than 13 in recent years.

According to a national survey, Colorado youth were much more likely than children in other states to use marijuana, both before and after legalization.

About 13 percent of Colorado minors 12-17 in 2014 had used marijuana in the last 30 days, the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health said. That compared with about 7 percent of minors the same ages nationwide.

Youth marijuana arrests in Colorado rose 5% between 2012 and 2014, from 3,235 to 3m400. The report cited a huge increase in cannabis arrests in schools, which rose by 34% between 2012 and 2014.

While usage of the drug did not increase significantly among children, it jumped quite a bit among adults.

Relying on data from the national drug use survey, Colorado reported that nearly a third of Coloradans aged between 18 and 25 in 2015 had used cannabis in the last 30 days, a rise of about 5% from the year before recreational use was legalized.

The survey showed a similar increase in adults over the age of 26. Past 30-day marijuana use went from 7.6% in 2012 to 12.4% in 2014.

The report comes three years after lawmakers ordered the state Department of Public Safety to start tracking law enforcement activity related to cannabis. A major argument of pro-legalization activists was that regulated markets would result in fewer arrests, making it possible for police to focus on what some considered to be more serious crimes.

The statistics showed a marked drop in arrests, ut that legalization has not solved the racial disparities in enforcement that drug-policy reformers had hoped to end. Colorado police departments have struggled to standardize their marijuana data-collection systems, making more granular conclusions problematic.

The post More adults using cannabis but not kids – Colorado Report appeared first on Pot My.

It caused a huge uproar with the people who make a living in that industry.

The Citizens for a Healthy Pueblo is the group asking for the ban, citing multiple reasons for this request. This includes concerns over how recreational marijuana is changing the community of Pueblo.

Growing Pueblo’s Future, a group of people who make their living off of different parts of the cannabis industry in Pueblo, spoke out against the Petition on Wednesday.

They said that if this ban were to come into effect, a lot of good hard working people would be impacted negatively.

“Just for our company alone I think it would hurt probably over two hundred and fifty families,” said business owner Jeff Ayotte.

He said every one of those individuals contribute to the economy of Pueblo.

“How many people go out to dinner every night? How many cars have we bought? How many houses have we bought in the county? How many kids are here,” said Ayotte.

Former Pueblo Sherrif Dan Corsentino said he supports recreational marijuana and that people should look at how sage legalization has made the industry.

“we have a regulated industry. We have an industry that is growing. It’s professional, it’s accountable and if we do it right the prosecution and law enforcement does not have to worry about the cannabis industry,” said Corsentino.

Some argued that without recreational pot, it would just open up the black market to fill the void.

“The Mexican drug cartels, they want to steal these jobs and I say we cannot let that happen. We need to protect the jobs that we have right here in pueblo,” said Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace.

One business owner says the way to defeat this petition is education.

“I really think we need to educate the public on what legalized regulated marijuana is. Show them the difference between illegal marijuana and regulated marijuana. We also need to educate the public on what legalized regulated marijuana is doing for our community,” said Ayotte.

The people who proposed the ban argued that the vote back in 2012 didn’t accurately represent what the people of Pueblo cCunty want and that those in rural parts of the county are extremely against recreational marijuana.

They said this issue should be decided by the voters once again.

The post Debate over recreational marijuana grows in Pueblo appeared first on Pot My.

Nebraska and Oklahoma claimed that Colorado’s decriminalization has “increases the flow of marijuana over their borders,” forcing them to expend greater “law enforcement, judicial system, and penal system resources,” thereby harming the welfare of their residents.

They claimed to suffer a “direct and significant detrimental impact – namely the diversion of limited manpower and resources to arrest and process suspected and convicted felons involved in the increased marijuana trafficking or transportation.”

They argued that Colorado’s approach is in direct conflict with federal law, which makes it illegal to posses even small amount of marijuana.

The court turned the case away in an unsigned opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Thomas, writing for them both, said court should have taken the case because “the plaintiff states have made a reasonable case.”

There were no lower court decisions, because disputes between the states come directly to the Supreme Court.

Nebraska and Oklahoma did not challenge Colorado’s legalization itself. Instead they claimed it is the way it regulates the manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana was causing them harm.

However, Colorado said its neighboring states real quarrel is with the federal government’s policy of declining to prosecute cases of simple possession in states where marijuana use has been legalized. It also said that those states should sue the federal government and not Colorado.

Colorado said, “A state does not violate the sovereign rights of another state, by making a policy decision that parts ways with its neighbors.”

The Obama Justice Department urged the Supreme Court not to take the case. “Entertaining the type of dipute at issue here – essentially that one state’s laws make it more likely that third parties will violate federal and state law in another state – would represent a substantial and unwarranted expansion of” of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.

The post Supreme Court Declines to handle state disputes over marijuana appeared first on Pot My.