Since states across the country first began legalizing cannabis, the ability for cannabis-related businesses to advertise on social media — or even mention or show cannabis products — has remained a contentious issue. 

Many platforms will quickly remove cannabis business accounts once they catch wind of their content, leaving professionals with limited access to their audience and ultimately having to jump through hurdles like self-censorship to maintain their accounts. Some have also questioned if the consistent censorship surrounding cannabis and other drug content may lead to gaps in education or information encouraging harm reduction.

Despite these concerns, there remains a prevailing push to ensure children are not exposed to cannabis marketing and that reform as a whole does not encourage use among people under the legal age.

Colorado is currently caught in the middle of this push and pull, as lawmakers are working to advance legislation that would force social media platforms to ban users for talking positively about, promoting or advertising cannabis and cannabis products online, along with other regulated drugs and substances.

Colorado’s Polarizing Content-Regulation Bill

The bill, SB24-158, is currently facing criticism from multiple angles. 

The legislation was recently amended to include language saying that “a social media platform may allow a user to promote, sell, or advertise medical marijuana or retail marijuana to users who are at least twenty-one years of age,” so long as the content is in compliance with state cannabis laws, Marijuana Moment reports. 

Members of the Senate Committee on Business, Labor and Technology ultimately approved the amended bill unanimously, advancing it to the Appropriations Committee.

Still, some critics argue that the revised legislation does not adequately address concerns around other substances, like psilocybin — which Colorado voters decriminalized and legalized for therapeutic use in 2022 — alongside hemp-derived products or over-the-counter cough syrups.

As it stands currently, the bill would restrict promotion of hemp-derived products with more than 1.25 mg of THC or a CBD-to-THC ratio of less than 20:1. Most other hemp-containing products meant for human consumption that are not a dietary supplement, food, food additive or herb would also be restricted.

R Street Institute’s Shoshana Weismann called out some of the issues in the bill’s initial language, stating that it has some “potentially disastrous quirks.” Speaking with Marijuana Moment, Weismann referenced that the updated bill would prevent social media users from promoting substances like Nyquil or anti-anxiety medications.

“And if you promote those medications, you will be reported to law enforcement,” Weismann told the publication via email. “That is asinine.”

Social Media Age Verification, Data Considerations

So what about the cannabis exemption for those over 21? Does allowing companies to advertise specifically to those of legal age act as a proper workaround?

The bill states that social media companies must “use a commercially reasonable process to verify each user’s age” and “retain any information obtained for age verification purposes only for the purpose of compliance and for no other purpose and to dispose of such information securely after age verification is complete.”

In a recent blog post, Weismann notes that this process is not only expensive for businesses but also would require Colorado social media users to upload sensitive information to any given social media site they use. 

“Although the bill requires platforms to dispose of this information once a user’s age is verified, the rule does not apply to third-party verifiers — rendering enforcement against them nearly impossible. Further, it doesn’t stop nefarious actors who would seek to hack such valuable information,” Weismann writes. 

The bill mandates companies to retain “any data and metadata concerning users’ identities and activities” for one year, and Weismann argues that this only makes data more enticing and accessible for hackers. 

Noting the potential First Amendment and free speech violations of the bill, Weismann also references the bill’s language prohibiting social media companies from alerting users “to the fact that a law enforcement agency is investigating the user’s activity and account,” arguing that this violates Fourth Amendment principles.

“This means that if someone is unaware the government is investigating them due to what is, in effect, a legislatively mandated gag order, they cannot fight government actions or exercise their rights,” Weismann states. “While these orders may be necessary in certain cases, it shouldn’t be an across-the-board call.”

Unanswered Questions and Uncertain Outcomes

There are a number of other potential scenarios the legislation could affect that lawmakers must still answer to. 

For example, it’s still unclear as to whether a medical patient posting about their cannabis use to social media would be banned under the legislation. Even someone posting that an over-the-counter cough syrup helped them to feel better, or Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) recent touting of the state’s emerging psychedelic industry as a positive and beneficial move, could potentially be banned under the language of the bill. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen (D) told Marijuana Moment last month that he was “working on answers” to these questions.

Should the legislation pass, social media companies would need to update their policies and publicly post them on or before July 1, 2025. Companies would also need to submit annual reports to the state attorney general to confirm “whether the current version of the published policies contain definitions and provisions relating to illicit substances.”

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The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 34-year-old nonprofit research and educational organization “that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana,” announced in a press release on Monday that it “has partnered with the City and County of Denver to provide comprehensive training on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention to the city’s first responders.” 

The Psychedelic Crisis Assessment and Intervention training was “commissioned by the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel (DPMPRP), a first-of-its-kind panel that was formed after the passage of Ordinance 301 in May 2019, which effectively decriminalized the personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms in Denver,” MAPS said in a statement. 

Per the press release, the training will cover topics including: “The history, usage, psychological and physiological response, and potential adverse effects of psilocybin ingestion”; “The legal considerations and implications of decriminalization and the role of first responders”; “The standards and protocols for effective psilocybin or psychedelic-related crisis response planning, training, and deployment”; and “The best practices and techniques for assessing, de-escalating, and managing psychedelic crises.”

According to the local publication Westworld,  the training program “became even more important in 2022, when Colorado became the second state (after Oregon) to legalize medical psilocybin use and the first state to decriminalize specific psychedelics, including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.”

“Created as part of the 2019 voter initiative decriminalizing psilocybin, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel took a brief hiatus in 2023 after Prop 122 passed,” Westworld reported this week. “But the panel is meeting again and is expected to take a leading position in Denver’s approach to its medical psilocybin rules.”

After Prop 122 passed in 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the measure into law last year. The law directs “the department of revenue [to create] the natural medicine division for the purpose of regulating and licensing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees.”

The measure requires the natural medicine division to: “Regulate natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including healing centers, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers, and issue licenses for such businesses; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses; and Perform duties necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including investigatory and disciplinary authority.”

Kevin Matthews, former President of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, celebrated the launch of the training program.

“I’m proud of my hometown for stepping into a national leadership role with this training. It represents a giant leap forward for public health and safety with psilocybin and natural medicines in Denver and is a perfect example of what cities can do to better integrate emerging psychedelic policies into their existing infrastructures. I’m looking forward to the city continuing its collaboration with MAPS to monitor outcomes and educate Denver residents on this exciting new issue,” Matthews said in a statement.

Sara Gael, a former MAPS Harm Reduction Officer, said the group is “honored and excited to collaborate with the City and County of Denver to provide this groundbreaking training program on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention.”

“We believe that this program will equip first responders with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle psilocybin and psychedelic related crises in a safe and compassionate manner and ultimately improve the health and well-being of the community. This program is also a testament to the progressive and visionary leadership of Denver, which has taken a bold step to decriminalize psilocybin and create a model for other cities to follow,” Gael said.

MAPS said in the press release on Monday that its “training aims to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of first responders to quickly recognize and effectively respond to emotional and behavioral crisis incidents involving psilocybin and other psychedelics.” The group also said that the “Denver Harm Reduction training initiative has been well received by the City of Denver leadership, who recognize the importance and value of providing first responders with the necessary tools and skills to handle psychedelic-related crises in a safe and compassionate manner.”

“The program also seeks to enhance responder safety and reduce risk and liability in situations where individuals are experiencing a psychedelic-induced crisis,” the group explained. “After three years, a team of over 20 MAPS and subcontracted professionals with backgrounds in law, medicine, psychiatry, mental health, neuropsychopharmacology, law enforcement, crisis response, quality improvement, and education developed the curriculum. The final training is customized for law enforcement, mental health, and emergency medical service personnel and will be delivered through asynchronous videos and corresponding assessments.”

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The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) released a monthly cannabis sales report for August, the latest month available, showing that adult-use and medical cannabis sales surpassed $15 billion.

While the overall picture looks good, sales are actually down during the past few years since peaking during the pandemic, and the downward trend worries some analysts.

The data shows Colorado adult-use and medical cannabis sales reached a total of $15,028,995,376. Since 2016, the state has sold $1-2 billion in cannabis each year. But because of oversupply issues ultimately leading to lower prices, Colorado sales are expected to be lower in 2023 than prior years.

The DOR’s Marijuana Sales Reports summarize total sales made by medical and retail cannabis stores monthly by county. The Marijuana Sales Report has monthly total sales for the state, and the Marijuana Sales by County Report shows monthly sales by medical and adult-use cannabis stores by county.

Adult-use cannabis sales launched in Colorado in January 2014. 

Sales are still up compared to when the market launched in 2014, but has fallen precipitously since its peak during the pandemic.

The Colorado cannabis market sold almost $2.2 billion in 2020 and more than $2.2 billion in 2021, as many residents  were forced to quarantine at home, and government stimulus checks provided people with some extra cash.

That’s because the state’s dispensaries are struggling amid an economic downturn.

Sales of both medical and adult-use cannabis in Colorado plummeted in June 2022—marking a downward trend that extends to today.

Unless cannabis sales pick up in Q3 of 2023, full-year cannabis sales could be down from 2022, when Colorado cannabis companies sold $1.7 billion in cannabis, matching sales in 2019. As of the end of August, year-to-date sales tallied in at just over $1 billion.

Cannabis Sales in Denver, the State’s Largest Market

In Colorado’s largest city and capital, and the corresponding county, the drop in sales is acute. A July report from the City and County of Denver shows a 22% decline in annual cannabis sales revenue from 2021 to 2022, the largest annual drop since legalization launched.

Consumers who are strapped for cash are buying fewer expensive products, Truman Bradley with the Marijuana Industry Group told 9 News.

“The ripple effect to employees and customers can’t be overstated either,” he said. “As cannabis sales drop, so do the tax revenues.” 

Denver makes up about a third of the state’s entire cannabis sales.

“In 2021, 31% of Colorado’s total marijuana sales occurred in the City and County of Denver,” a Municipal Marijuana Management report from 2022 reads. “From 2014 to 2021, the proportion of marijuana sales in Denver out of all Colorado marijuana sales has fallen by 17%, going from 48% to 31%. This downward trend, which has been consistent since the implementation of retail marijuana sales in 2014, indicates marijuana sales growth outside of the City and County of Denver has been increasing faster than within the city.”

A recent report from The Denver Post analyzes the fallout of the post-pandemic cannabis industry in Colorado.  “The market’s just bad. It’s bad right now,” cannabis salesperson Val Tonazzi told The Denver Post. “There’s businesses closing, left and right.”

Federal Law Impacts Sales in Colorado

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Sept. 5 regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance.

 “We are pleased to hear that you have recently received Health and Human Services’s (HHS) recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule III,” Polis began in his letter. “It’s about time.”

“This is an historic moment and we owe you and your administration a debt of gratitude for your leadership on catching up with where the science is,” Polis continued.

 “Cannabis’ current classification under federal law as a Schedule I drug is contradicted by the scientific evidence. The notion, as previously considered, that cannabis has no accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and no accepted safety standards even under medical supervision has been widely disproven, HHS’s recommendation is evidence-based and a move in the right direction.”

Polis also addresses the issues that still need to be resolved, such as banking. He wrote that if cannabis becomes a Schedule III substance, banks would be free to serve cannabis businesses and that tax code 280E would no longer be necessary.

Oversupply, lack of demand, competition with neighboring legal states, and black market sales, puts Colorado cannabis businesses in a bind. 

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Sept. 5 regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance.

According to The Gazette, Polis’ letter addressed this recommendation, and applauded Biden on leading an administration toward progress. “We are pleased to hear that you have recently received Health and Human Services’s (HHS) recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule III,” Polis began in his letter. “It’s about time.”

“This is an historic moment and we owe you and your administration a debt of gratitude for your leadership on catching up with where the science is,” Polis continued. “Cannabis’ current classification under federal law as a Schedule I drug is contradicted by the scientific evidence. The notion, as previously considered, that cannabis has no accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and no accepted safety standards even under medical supervision has been widely disproven, HHS’s recommendation is evidence-based and a move in the right direction.”

He continues that he offers his “enthusiastic support” while the country waits for the DEA to respond, but in the meantime, urges the president to begin thinking about what else needs to be done to make moving cannabis to Schedule III ideal for cannabis businesses. “I ask you to simultaneously consider a few next steps in the near future by showing your support for access to banking for the state-regulated marketplace, reduced criminal penalties for possession and distribution of cannabis, addressing immigration-related consequences and enforcement discretion from FDA,” Polis wrote.

Polis also addresses the issues that still need to be resolved, such as banking. He wrote that if cannabis becomes a Schedule III substance, banks would be free to serve cannabis businesses and that tax code 280E would no longer be necessary. “The most efficient way to address these public health risks is to displace the illicit marketplace and replace it with a legal, safe, regulated, and age-verified system,” Polis continued. “But we can only do that by promoting federal policies that allow for profitability in these well-established state-regulated marketplaces. That equates to [Internal Revenue Code] Section 280E reform and access to traditional banking services.”

Polis noted that rescheduling cannabis will become a hallmark accomplishment of Biden’s term as president. “Your administration will soon be credited with saving hundreds of thousands of jobs and significant tax revenue for the states when DEA solidifies FDA’s recommendation,” Polis writes. “While federal prohibition continues, more than three-fourths of the states have legalized medicinal marijuana, and more than 20 have legalized marijuana for adult use.”

“Let’s celebrate this progress and work together to finish the job,” his letter to Biden concluded. “We greatly appreciate your leadership, and please come visit Colorado again soon.”

Nearly a year ago on Oct. 6, 2022, Biden made a historic announcement to pardon of thousands of federal cannabis prisoners. He also called for the HHS secretary and the attorney general to “to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law,” Biden said. “Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances. This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine—the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic.”

In response to Biden’s request last year, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, Rachel Levine, sent a letter to DEA Administrator Ann Milgram on Aug. 29 regarding recommendations for moving cannabis into the Schedule III category. “Following the data and science, HHS has expeditiously responded to President Biden’s directive to HHS Secretary [Xavier Becerra] and provided its scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA on August 29, 2023,” an HHS spokesperson said.

According to a statement provided to The Hill by a DEA spokesperson, it’s the DEA’s turn to review the recommendations. “As part of this process, HHS conducted a scientific and medical evaluation for consideration by DEA. DEA has the final authority to schedule or reschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act. DEA will now initiate its review,” the spokesperson said. It is unclear how long it will take for the DEA to review the recommendations, or how the department will respond.

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 labeled cannabis as a Schedule I substance over 50 years ago. Schedule I substances currently include cannabis, heroin, LSD, ecstasy, and peyote, among others, which are described as having no medical benefits and a high potential for abuse. Schedule II substances also have high potential for abuse, but potentially lead to “severe psychological or physical dependence,” such as Vicodin, cocaine, meth, oxycodone, fentanyl, Adderall, and more. Schedule III substances however, are simply drugs with “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence,” like ketamine and testosterone.

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On the heels of his state’s landmark new law that legalizes psychedelic drugs, the governor of Colorado wants to go even further. 

Jared Polis, the Democrat who was elected to his second term as the state’s governor last year, said Wednesday that he wants Colorado lawmakers to empower him with the ability to issue pardons to individuals who have been busted for crimes related to psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms. 

“So anybody who has something on their criminal record that is now legal can have that expunged and doesn’t hold them back from future employment opportunities,” Polis said at the Psychedelic Science conference, which is being held in Denver this week, as quoted by Axios.

“It is still ridiculous that in this day and age somebody suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD can get medical coverage for very costly prescription drugs but cannot get coverage for a treatment in a healing center that will address some of the underlying causes of the issue,” the governor added.

Polis’s comments come less than a month after he signed a bill that will establish a regulatory framework for psychedelic drugs. The bill was the byproduct of last year’s voter-passed initiative, Proposition 122, and it will officially take effect on July 1.

The measure “legalized therapeutic psilocybin and decriminalized the personal cultivation, use and sharing of psilocybin mushrooms and three other natural psychedelics (DMT, ibogaine and mescaline that is not from peyote),” according to the local outlet Westworld.

“While licensed psilocybin therapy centers could open by late 2024, Prop 122 did not allow for the establishment of retail operations, only healing centers, so there won’t be mushroom stores popping up like the hundreds of cannabis dispensaries currently in Colorado,” Westworld reported last month.

Westworld, reporting this week at the Psychedelic Science conference, noted that Polis [who] “never publicly supported Prop 122 but has praised it since the measure passed, told the crowd that he has ‘no personal connection’ to psychedelic medicine,” but his support of psychedelic use is “values based” and about “body autonomy.”

“We are facing very difficult challenges in mental and behavioral health and are very excited about the opportunities,” Polis said, as quoted by Westworld. “In many of these areas, including cannabis, the people of our state, and not the politicians, led the way.”

The governor said at the conference that he envisions a significant expansion of the state’s psychedelic laws, including changes that would enable psychedelic therapy to be covered by insurance in Colorado.

“Yes, that’s right. People will no longer need to go to Mexico or Colombia. They can come right here to Colorado,” Polis said, as quoted by Westworld.

“Once it’s federally scheduled to be a pharmaceutical, it will immediately be rescheduled in Colorado,” the governor added. “We want people to say…Colorado got this right. Look, I’m sure we’ll get a few things wrong, but we can learn from them and build upon them.”

After a majority of Colorado voters approved Prop 122 in November, parts of the initiative took effect in December of last year. 

“Coloradans voted last November and participated in our democracy,” Polis said at the time. “Officially validating the results of the citizen and referred initiatives is the next formal step in our work to follow the will of the voters and implement these voter-approved measures.”

About 53% of voters in Colorado approved Proposition 122 in last year’s election.

Following Polis’s certification of the measure in December, psychedelics were officially decriminalized in Colorado. 

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law on May 23 that established a regulatory framework for psychedelic substances. 

SB23-290, also called Natural Medicine Regulation and Legalization, was signed just a few weeks after it was approved in the Senate with House amendments. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Steven Fenberg and Rep. Judy Amabile, and is set to take effect starting on July 1.

The Colorado Times Recorder spoke with Tasia Poinsatte, director of the Healing Advocacy Fund of Colorado, last month about the bill’s potential. “Our state is facing a mental health crisis, and our current system has been unable to meet the needs of those who are struggling, including the many veterans in our state who are at a high risk of suicide,” said Poinsatte. “Colorado voters agreed with the passage of Prop. 122 that we need to open new, innovative pathways to healing for those who are struggling with mental health conditions.”

The law doesn’t place limitations on personal possession for any psychedelic substance, ranging from dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline, ibogaine, psilocybin, or psilocin. Psilocybin and psilocin will be administered at “healing centers,” but it does allow other substances to be added later.

The bill also states that anyone under 21 who possesses or consumes a natural medicine product will only be subject to a fine of $100 or less, and a maximum of four hours of “substance use education or counseling.” More than one offense results in the same fine and education requirement, with an added 24 hours of “useful public service.”

The cultivation of natural medicine is permitted if it’s happening on a person’s private property within a 12-by-12-foot space. However, anyone who is not licensed and “knowingly manufactures [a] natural medicine product using an inherently hazardous substance” is committing a level 2 drug felony. An “inherently hazardous substance” refers to solvents such as butane, propane, and diethyl ether.

The bill also includes protections for consumers, stating that a person using a natural medicine doesn’t solely constitute as child abuse or neglect, is not grounds for being denied health coverage, doesn’t disqualify a person to be discriminated against if they’re eligible for organ donation, and “must not be considered for public assistance benefits eligibility.”

A person with a natural medicine conviction is also eligible to have the conviction record sealed “immediately after the later date of final disposition or release from supervision.”

The bill calls for the creation of a natural medicine advisory board to examine “issues related to natural medicine and natural medicine product, and making recommendations to the director of the division of professions and occupations and the executive director of the state licensing authority.” It also requires the creation of a division of natural medicine to be established within the department of revenue to regulate licensing for “cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees.”

Colorado voters passed Proposition 122, also referred to as the Natural Medicine Health Act, by 52.64% last November to decriminalize psychedelics. “This is a historic moment for both the people of Colorado and our country,” said Natural Medicine Colorado coalition director Kevin Matthews. “I think this demonstrates that voters here in Colorado are ready for new options and another choice for healing, especially when it comes to their mental and behavioral health.”

The initiative took effect in December 2022. “Coloradans voted last November and participated in our democracy,” said Polis. “Officially validating the results of the citizen and referred initiatives is the next formal step in our work to follow the will of the voters and implement these voter-approved measures.”

Coverage from Westword shows that advocates aren’t happy with the law, stating that it’s too restrictive. According to sponsor Amabile, the bill is solid but won’t make everyone happy. “My takeaway from the testimony is that ballot measure 122 is controversial,” Amabile said at a meeting in late April. “It has a lot of aspects that some people like. It has aspects that the people who like some parts of it don’t like. It has parts that nobody likes.”

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The city of Aurora, Colorado hosted a grand opening on Tuesday for its brand new 77,000-square foot, nearly $42 million recreational facility that was funded entirely by tax revenue generated from legal marijuana sales. 

Known as the “Southeast Recreation Center and Fieldhouse,” the facility boasts a slew of amenities, according to local news station KDVR: “A 23,000-square-foot fieldhouse with temperature controlled indoor environment; A full-sized field with professional-grade turf; An 8,000-square-foot multiuse gymnasium [that] will be able to accommodate one main basketball court, two cross basketball courts, two volleyball courts or three pickleball courts; A 1/9-mile long track elevated above the fitness area and gymnasium; A 7,600-square-foot fitness area with state-of-the-art equipment, including: A functional fitness area; An outdoor fitness space; A fitness studio; A large community room; [and a] natatorium, which in turn is comprised of: A 125,000-gallon swimming pool with a maximum depth of seven feet; A spa pool with water jets; A leisure pool that includes a 25-yard, four-lane lap pool, a lazy river, and a 20-foot-tall waterslide.” 

The city broke ground on the facility in early 2021, and it is the second new recreational facility to open in Aurora in the last four years.

The other rec center, which opened in 2019, was also funded by taxes from marijuana sales, according to KDVR. The news outlet Westworld reported that the Aurora City Council in 2020 “approved increasing the city’s sales tax on recreational marijuana from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent, with the additional revenues going to fund youth violence prevention projects.” 

“We are excited to open our newest recreation center and fieldhouse,” Brooke Bell, the director of the Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space, said in a press release from the city earlier this month. “After an extensive community engagement process, the feedback received guided the creation of this exceptional facility; we look forward to the community enjoying the space they helped envision for years to come.”

In the press release, the city said that the Southeast Recreation Center is located “near several neighborhoods and the Aurora Reservoir,” and that “the center is a regional destination boasting the first indoor fieldhouse within the city in addition to a variety of other amenities and breathtaking views of the Colorado mountains.”

The construction of the two recreational facilities in Aurora serve as “proof of concept” for advocates who helped Colorado become one of the first two states to legalize recreational cannabis a little more than a decade ago when voters there approved Amendment 64. 

Supporters of marijuana legalization have long contended that a regulated cannabis retail market could be an economic boon for state and local governments. 

“Colorado did what no one had done before,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said at an event in October commemorating the 10th anniversary of the state’s legalization measure, as quoted by the Denver Gazette. “With voter [approval] of Amendment 64, we made history and therefore it is fitting that we are celebrating today 10 years here at History Colorado.”

Polis, a Democrat, has worked to strengthen the marijuana law. Last summer, he signed an executive order “to ensure that no Coloradan is subject to penalization for the possession, cultivation, or use of marijuana as this substance is legal in Colorado as a result of Amendment 64,” his office announced at the time.

“The exclusion of people from the workforce because of marijuana-related activities that are lawful in Colorado, but still criminally penalized in other states, hinders our residents, economy and our State. No one who lawfully consumes, possesses, cultivates or processes marijuana pursuant to Colorado law should be subject to professional sanctions or denied a professional license in Colorado. This includes individuals who consume, possess, cultivate or process marijuana in another state in a manner that would be legal under Colorado law,” Polis said in a statement.

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis last week announced the first businesses to receive funding through the state’s Cannabis Business Pilot Grant.

A total of 16 aspiring cannabis retailers received the grants through a program that seeks “to save small businesses money, foster equity and diversity in the cannabis industry, and create good-paying jobs for Coloradans.”

“Our nation-leading work promoting equity and supporting innovation in Colorado’s thriving cannabis industry supports our economy, saves small businesses money, and ensures our state remains the best business-friendly destination in the country,” Polis, a Democrat, said in a statement on Thursday. “I’m proud to see this multi-year effort result in transformative grants to deserving applicants.”

The pilot grant program is part of a concerted effort to ensure that the state-regulated cannabis market benefits individuals from communities that have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.

In addition to facilitating economic opportunities through its new marijuana law, Colorado, like other states, have also offered a pathway for previous pot-related offenders to clean their record.

In January, Polis rang in the new year with an executive order that granted pardons to more than 1,300 individuals who had been convicted of possession of two ounces or less of cannabis.

The executive order was a byproduct of a bill signed into law by Polis that “authorized the Governor to grant pardons to a class of defendants who were convicted of the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana,” according to Polis’s office.

“Adults can legally possess marijuana in Colorado, just as they can beer or wine. It’s unfair that 1,351 additional Coloradans had permanent blemishes on their record that interfered with employment, credit, and gun ownership, but today we have fixed that by pardoning their possession of small amounts of marijuana that occurred during the failed prohibition era,” Polis said in a statement at the time.

The grants awarded by the Polis administration last week are described as “a funding opportunity for social equity cannabis businesses who have been awarded, or are actively pursuing, a regulated business license from the Marijuana Enforcement Division,” according to the state, which said the program “was developed to support cannabis entrepreneurs through access to capital to promote social equity, innovation, and job creation across the industry.”

Recipients of the grants may receive a maximum of $25,000 or $50,000.

The program is administered by the state’s Cannabis Business Office, which “provided grant applicants with educational and professional development opportunities as a part of the grant-making process,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.

The press release said that applicants “were required to complete a business development curriculum and create business plans and project proposals,” which included online learning modules.

Under the terms of the program, if the applicant did not include the training by the time the application was submitted, they were then given “21 calendar days to complete the technical assistance or forfeit their grant application submission and potential grant award.”

“The grant process was designed to ultimately prepare applicants with the foundational knowledge and materials for future success, as well as equip those in Colorado’s Cannabis Industry with a robust skillset to continue our state’s leadership in the space,” the press release said.

The 16 businesses selected to receive the first round of grant funding are: Apollo Limited; Canna-Couriers; Colorado Kush; Cb1 Logistics; Delta-9; Different Strokes 2.0 Puff N Paint Sip Art Studio; Flora Cannabis; Go Harvest LLC; Grn Bus; IDY Packaging Distributors; Kaylx Brands; Meta-Zon CannClub; Mile High Lounge (Ganja Games); Paly; Pufflow.com; and Tetra Hospitality Group.

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