The Colorado Department of Revenue’s announcement that $1.3 billion in regulated marijuana sales took place in calendar year 2016, generating nearly $200 million in state tax revenue. These figures do not include millions of dollars in revenue generated by local taxes on marijuana. The Cannabist reports: To put the state’s third year of regulated recreational marijuana sales in perspective, Year One totaled $699.2 million (combined with medical sales) and Year Two jumped up to $996.2 million. The…

It’s been exactly six months since legal retail marijuana sales began in Colorado, and today is the first day that retail marijuana business licenses are open to all applicants — not just those who previously held medical marijuana licenses. Click here for an application checklist and the required application forms. Please note that these licenses would not go into effect until October 1, 2014, and businesses would still require local approval. In these brief six months, the Centennial State has…

The Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division released initial regulations for the state’s impending legal marijuana industry on Monday, bringing the implementation of Amendment 64 one step closer to completion. Denver's Westword compiled a pretty good summary of the new rules, which cover the licensing and application process; production and sales models; and security and labeling requirements. It is important to note that these are emergency rules that were created in accordance…

A federal judge struck down a provision of Colorado’s legalization law on Tuesday, which would have required marijuana-themed magazines to be treated like pornography and sold behind the counter. Magazine publishers and local bookstores filed a lawsuit against the state in early June, arguing that such restrictions were not in place while marijuana use was illegal. The ruling follows last week’s statement by anti-marijuana Attorney General John Suthers that the provision is unconstitutional. The…