begin to address until 2020. Despite the criticism, Amendment 64’s passage resulted in the fi rst recreational cannabis sales system in the country when adult-use dispensaries opened in Colorado on January 1, 2014. Since then, Colorado dispensaries have sold over $12.3 billion in marijuana products, according to the state Department of Revenue, raising over $2 billion in taxes (not counting local revenue). Hickenlooper, who’d opposed statewide legalization, had warned those celebrating Amendment 64’s victory not to “break out the Cheetos or Goldfi sh too quickly,” but ultimately reversed his stance after he left that offi ce, even posing with the snacks for a photo. Mayor Michael Hancock, another detractor of legalization during the Amend- ment 64 campaign, has also publicly changed his stance on legal pot, appearing at a ribbon- cutting for a marijuana hospitality lounge in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood in March. Industrial hemp was also legalized in Colo- rado through Amendment 64, though it was viewed as a small side note at the time. Shortly after legalization, however, Colorado quickly became one of the largest industrial hemp producers in the country. With the emerging interest in cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intox- icating compound in marijuana and hemp plants, Colorado briefl y led the U.S. in hemp farming acreage. Since the federal legalization of hemp farming in 2018, Colorado’s hold on the hemp market has fallen, but the state is still viewed as an industry leader and ranked third in hemp acreage last year, according to a market report in Hemp Industry Daily. Colorado still has plenty of opponents of cannabis legalization, but the industry is too big for the state to turn back now. Charlotte Figi Charlotte Figi became a catalyst for medi- cal marijuana around the globe in 2013 when she appeared on Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s Weed documentary on CNN. Gupta had doubted medical marijuana’s effi cacy until he met Figi, a toddler who suffered from Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that can cause extreme seizures. Figi had been treated with CBD oil extracted from a non-intoxicating strain of marijuana, and no longer required a feeding tube to eat; her family reported that CBD had nearly eliminated her seizures. The Stanley Brothers, Colorado growers of the strain of high-CBD marijuana she used, later named the strain and future hemp company Char- lotte’s Web after Figi. Other patients moved to Colorado for the same treatment, helping to create the phrase “medical marijuana refugee.” Colorado had already passed Amend- ment 64, but the Figi family’s story further solidifi ed the state’s status as an epicenter for cannabis, created a swell in national sup- port for legalization, and opened the door to conversations about medical marijuana that hadn’t existed before. Unfortunately, Figi was among those at higher risk during the pandemic. In March 2020 she was hospitalized with what her family believed were complications from COVID-19; her mother soon announced that she had passed away at the age of thirteen. Just over two weeks after Figi’s death, Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order pro- claiming that April 7 would forever be known as Charlotte Figi Day in Colorado. On the most recent Charlotte Figi Day, the Stanley Brothers announced that ten families would receive a year’s supply of Charlotte’s Web formula as part of a new grant program in her honor, with another family announced each year. Changing Business Colorado’s cannabis industry has grown up since Toni Savage Fox sold Sean Azzariti the country’s fi rst legal recreational bag of pot on January 1, 2014. The dispensary where that sale took place, 3D Cannabis Center in north Denver, is now a Eufl ora location. A six-store chain with a delivery service that also holds the permit for the Mile High 420 Fest, Eufl ora is far from the largest cannabis business operation in Colorado, however. Colorado eased ownership restrictions on the cannabis industry in 2019, allowing more investors and publicly traded companies to own businesses. Since then, acquisitions have taken off, with homegrown enterprises and outside companies alike swallowing up smaller stores, cultivations and product makers. Old stand-alones like Denver Relief, Sacred Seed and Walking Raven started being acquired three years ago, and now some of the chains are getting bought out, too. The Green Solution, LivWell Enlightened Health, Green Dragon and Star Buds, four of the state’s fi ve largest dispensary chains, have all been acquired or have agreed to acquisition offers from varying cannabis corporations over the past two years (Green Dragon’s acquisition by Eaze hasn’t closed yet), while new players from California and other states have entered the fray. Now that sixteen more states have legalized recre- ational cannabis since Colorado and Washington made the move back in 2012, the industry is be- coming more national. Cookies, a dispensary chain and cannabis breeder from California’s Bay Area, is one of Colorado’s most popular pot brands. “You’ll continue to see Colorado companies engage in this activity, but I think it’s a part of the industry as a whole right now,” said Joe Hodas of Wana Brands, one of Colora- do’s largest edibles manufac- turers, after Wana agreed to a $300 million acquisition of- fer from Canopy Growth, one of Canada’s largest cannabis corporations. “In order to grow in this industry, some type of relationship would be necessary. Someone with deeper capital and greater reach.” Tightening Rules Much of Colorado’s positive reputation regarding cannabis legalization comes from the extra tax revenue, lower arrests rates and level of youth consumption, which has stayed largely the same since pre-Amend- ment 64 numbers. However, the cannabis industry has shown that it’s not above re- proach, either, and continues to deal with growing pains surrounding pesticide use in production, moldy and contaminated plants, and the treatment of low-level workers. State regulators have addressed several of these issues through surprise inspections, but there are still lawmakers who’d like to see legal cannabis reined in further. Colorado’s fi rst major bump in the road after recreational pot sales began garnered fast headlines. Stories of edible freakouts suffered by new cannabis eaters popped up frequently in the months following the open- ing of recreational dispensaries. Reports of accidental ingestion by children and pets, two deaths potentially linked to edibles, and a very public case of over-consumption by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd shone a light on a real problem: People didn’t know how to eat weed. One of the fi nal (and most infamous) straws came during the 2014 Denver County Fair, when several attendees said they were given pot-infused chocolate bars by LivWell. The dispensary had sent sample chocolate bars to the fair that were sup- posed to be free of THC, but at least three people reported feeling intoxicated and nauseous, and eventually tested positive for THC after the fair. All of the public mis- haps put pressure on Colorado to educate consumers and regulate THC-infused food and drinks, which eventually resulted in 10-milligram servings and a “Start low, go slow” campaign by the state. After edibles, home grows came under the lens. Federal and local law enforcement agencies had quickly reported increased black market activity after recreational pot as an attempt to curb youth use of highly potent extracted marijuana products — a quickly growing problem since recreational dispensaries had opened, according to the state Department of Public Health and En- vironment — the law added new restrictions to medical marijuana patients and physicians. The law also cut down allowable medical marijuana concentrate purchasing amounts, mandated mental health reviews for prospec- tive patients under the age of 21, and required that all dispensary purchases made by patients be entered into a new state tracking system. Since the new law took effect this past January, medical marijuana sales have seen their low- est numbers since recreational sales began in 2014, according to the Department of Revenue. Mushrooms Denver’s status as a trailblazer for can- nabis helped set up another fi rst for the city in alternative medicine and drug-policy re- form: psychedelics. In 2019, Denver became the fi rst city in the country to decriminalize consumption, possession and growth of psi- locybin mushrooms. Other cities and states followed suit, with Oregon even legalizing psilocybin-assisted therapy. Colorado could soon help lead the charge for psychedelic medicine legalization. A ballot proposal that would legalize psilocybin, cre- ate licensed “healing centers” for therapeutic psychedelic sessions and seal certain prior An established leader in cannabis regulation, Colorado could lead a similar path for psychedelics. was legalized in Colorado, and anything in the gray was swept out. A 2015 law required medical marijuana caregivers to register with the state and created stricter guidelines for exemptions allowing patients to grow more than six plants. Shortly thereafter, some local governments passed laws restricting rec- reational marijuana growing on residential properties, and a 2017 law at the state level implemented those property restrictions statewide. Marijuana industry groups largely supported the measures, but medical mari- juana patient advocates and early consumer activists condemned the new laws as moves toward a commercial-only landscape. In 2021, an effort to limit the potency of commercial marijuana products began tak- ing form at the Colorado Capitol. Proposed convictions has been fi led for the November election, with proponents now collecting sig- natures. That proposal would open the door for DMT, ibogaine and mescaline legalization by state regulators, as well. Another proposed ballot initiative would decriminalize posses- sion, cultivation and gifting of psilocybin, psilocyn, ibogaine, mescaline and DMT, but that campaign hasn’t yet been approved for signature-gathering. If voters approve one of the two potential ballot questions, Colorado could soon have one of the fi rst major mushroom markets in the country — with many of the same challenges that came with the legalization of cannabis almost a decade ago. Email the author at [email protected] 11 westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD APRIL 14-20, 2022 ANTHONY CAMERA
