Billy Breathes Bud For A Job

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Astronaut, Playboy photographer, editor at Vogue: whatever vocations are on your personal list of dream jobs, make room, because "pot critic" just became a real thing. Westword, an alt-weekly newspaper out in Denver, has hired one "William Breathes" to judge the quality of the city's medical cannabis and the dispensaries which sell it.

Breathes (it's not his real name, and is almost certainly a Phish reference) examines the grow quality of different bud he finds at dispensaries in the area, as well as the atmosphere and staff he encounters on his trips. He has been self-medicating for a stomach ailment for some time and seems to be young-ish, but many of the 100,000+ Colorado residents with medical marijuana cards are geriatric and may feel uncomfortable walking into a place in a bad neighborhood wallpapered with velvet posters and blasting the Disco Biscuits in its waiting room. The 300 dispensaries in Denver should offer something for everyone though, and Breathes describes the location, layout, pricing and of course the MM products from the ones he selects for review.

The weed reviews themselves are accompanied by photos of the buds, wax, etc. the author has purchased that week, along with pricing and info on how it looked, smelled, felt and smoked. It's a standardized system throughout his columns, and as clear and concise as any largely subjective review process can be.

VIDEO: Surfing geese, anyone?

By Ali Plumb

From http://www.asylum.co.uk/

Now before you get excited, we should point something out – these geese that we're about to show you "surfing" aren't actually, you know, on boards, standing up, feathers in the wind.

They're not even wearing wetsuits, for God's sake – it's like they've naturally adapted to float on the water. Crazy stuff.

In reality, these "surfing" geese are just casually floating into, onto and around heavy waves on the Colorado river, and for some weird reason it makes for compulsive viewing. Look at them geese, swirling around like it ain't no thing... internet, you never cease to amaze us.

Marijuana Soda Provides a High Without the Smoke

Analysis by David Teeghman 

 

From: http://news.discovery.com/

Photo: Dixie Elixirs

One Colorado soda company has developed a line of sodas that have an unusual ingredient: marijuana. Dixie Elixirs has made their drinks available to anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana.

The drinks come in eight different flavors, including pink lemonade, root beer and grape. But if the company really wants to get their drinks into the hands of marijuana lovers, they may want to start working on pizza and nachos flavors.

But marijuana is only legal to consume in 14 states with a prescription from a doctor. So, unless you are one of the approximately half-million people who is a medical marijuana patient, this pot-infused soda won't do you much good.

It's an open secret that you can smoke marijuana and still be a valuable part of society. But when you think of smoking weed, you're more likely to think of Cheech and Chong than the people running the United States government. (Even though at least two U.S. presidents have admitted smoking it.)

The drink makers say part of the reason they developed their line of mary-jane drinks was to remove that "reefer madness" stigma associated with marijuana smokers.

If California voters decide to make recreational marijuana legal this November, you may start seeing these organic sodas (the drink makers really know their audience) in grocery stores and liquor stores right next to the stuff from Pepsi and Coke.

But if Coca-Cola's history is any sign of what the company might do next, they could return to the heady days of putting mind-altering substances in their sodas.

At a time of sagging soda sales, drink makers are looking for a way to boost sales, and marijuana might be the answer. Medical marijuana has already proven an effective way at boosting newspaper sales, of all things. The New York Times reports that medical marijuana ads in small Colorado newspapers boost revenues enough for it to increase the size of its staff.

Pot Reviewer Gets Paid To Get High

FROM: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/24422897/detail.html

Click here for Full VIDEO:

http://money.cnn.com/video/

A Denver man gets paid to
smoke pot and write about it as one of the first medical marijuana critics in the country.

A decade after medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado, it's estimated about 2 percent of residents -- or more than 100,000 people -- have applied for medical marijuana licenses.

According to one Harvard economist, roughly $18 billion is spent on pot every year in the U.S. Denver's Westword newspaper has capitalized on those numbers -- hiring the man known as "William Breathes" to review pot dispensaries and the quality of the medical marijuana they sell.

"He has his journalism degree," a Westword editor said. "He was a good writer, and he could also punctuate and he could spell, which was very different than a lot of people who applied for the job."

Breathes has been smoking marijuana for 15 years to ease chronic stomach pains. Now his medicine is paying his mortgage.

"Load up a little bit and taste it," he said as he tested a joint he bought at a local dispensary. "Try and taste the smoke as it comes out. It has a really woody finish, almost like a mesquite finish to it. After a few hits, try to see what kind of buzz it is.

"People who swear by pot's medical benefits are becoming so-called marijuana pharmacists.

Steve Horowitz makes edibles at his Ganja Gourmet Shop on a street nicknamed "Broadsterdam."

"It's like gold, this stuff," he said. "There's a big bubble going on, there's a big buzz, everyone wants to be in the medical marijuana business."

As for Breathes, he's not going to lie. His job can definitely be fun sometimes, and he still can't get over that he gets paid to take bong hits.

But Breathes also believes in the power of marijuana as medicine.

"When I'm battling throwing up, pot really helps me the most -- it's truly medical," he said.

Copyright © 2010 CNN Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Colorado beers: fifty to try before you die -- or die trying

By Jonathan Shikes

From: http://blogs.westword.com/

​Last week, GQ magazine released a bucket list of fifty beers to drink before you die. It was a decent compilation, but a little short on Colorado offerings. So we decided to come up with our own list of fifty Colorado-made beers to drink before you die.

We have tried every one of these beers (arranged alphabetically) -- or trust someone who has.

Now drink in our list -- and then start arguing about how we screwed up! Cheers. (For more beer news, follow me on Twitter at @ColoBeerMan.)

Avery Mephistopheles
Avery The Reverend
Avery Dupceleuse
Avery Maharaja
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Breckenridge 471
Boulder Beer Hazed & Infused
Bristol Winter Warlock
Bull & Bush Man Beer
Bull & Bush Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout
Del Norte Orale
Del Norte Luminaria
Dry Dock U-Boat Hefeweizen
Dry Dock Victory ESB
Estes Park Brewery Raspberry Wheat
Grand Lake Plaid Bastard
Great Divide Yeti Oak Aged Imperial Stout
Great Divide Old Ruffian
Great Divide Hoss
Great Divide Hercules
Left Hand St. Vrain Trippel
Left Hand Double Sawtooth
Left Hand Milk Stout
Left Hand Smokejumper
Mountain Sun Colorado Kind IPA
Mountain Sun Nihlist
Mountain Sun Bombshell Blonde
New Belgium Frambozen
New Belgium 1554
New Belgium La Folie
New Belgium Biere de Mars
Odell Mountain Standard
Odell IPA
Odell Red
Odell Woodcut No. 2 or 3
Oskar Blues Gordon
Oskar Blues Ten FIDY
Oskar Blues Gubna
Oskar Blues Old Chub
Pints Pub Dark Star
Sandlot Where the Helles Bill
Ska Modus Hoperendi
Ska True Blonde Dubbel
Steamworks Ale Diablo
Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown
Twisted Pine Hoppyman
Wynkoop Silverback Smoked Porter
Wynkoop Mile HI.P.A.
Wynkoop Patty's Chili Beer
Wynkoop Schwarzbier

What's It Like to Grow Weed for a Living -- We Ask a Master Bud Tender

By G. Xavier Robillard
From http://www.asylum.com/

Outside of Denver, Colo., in an unmarked and heavily fortified warehouse, is a 3,800-square-foot medical marijuana greenhouse. After a tour of the facility, over dinner and a joint, we interviewed master bud tender Brad Livingston*, to find out what it's like to work as a medical marijuana grower.

The pay
The money is good. Livingston told us he was making a solid six-figure salary, plus performance bonuses in weed that he planned to sell on his own (if there's actually anyone in Colorado who doesn't have a medical marijuana card).

The qualifications
A subscription to High Times magazine won't get you this job. Brad got the gig because he had a reputation in the Colorado pot underworld as a large-scale grower; his current job is the result of mining 15 years worth of connections.

He also worked at various commercial botanical greenhouses and has experience setting up cooling and watering systems; plus, he's got a good handle on how to cultivate clones and cross strains. He has a sales background as well, which helps him interface regularly with the public to sign up new patients.

Keep reading to find out the work schedule and legal risks.



The Schedule
Get ready for 80-hour weeks. There's a lot of work to take care of 600 plants. You're working on 12-hour light cycles: When you work in the flowering room, which has lights on after peak business hours to lower electricity costs, you're guaranteed to put in several hours of trimming after midnight. And with plants reaching maturation within 10 weeks, the work is nonstop.

Colorado law ties each plant in the greenhouse to a specific medical marijuana patient. Each patient is entitled to six plants, and since the greenhouse is constantly signing up new patients, you're always adding more plants to your care. Because of the job's sensitive nature it's difficult to take sick days since management isn't going to call up a temp agency for part-time help.

The Work Environment
You can mostly set your own hours and there are no staff meetings, but there is one drawback: Reggae is playing through speakers wired throughout the warehouse at all hours. (Not to mention that your friends will constantly pester you for free samples.)

The Law
In the warehouse's office is a framed, official city license to operate a medical marijuana greenhouse, so they're complying with both city and state laws. If there's a break-in at Brad's greenhouse the alarm will summon the local police, who stop in to chat all the time.

But federal law, which supersedes state law, prohibits all marijuana cultivation. Even though the Obama administration has ordered the Justice Department to stay away from medical marijuana, there are rogue DEA agents in Colorado who are salivating at the opportunity to bust the growers. Cases could be thrown out but only after high legal bills and a ruinous dope seizure. And nobody knows what the next president will do in terms of enforcement.

The Lifestyle
Brad has two young kids, and this summer he's a stay-at-home dad, which means he'll have to put in his entire work week at night. He plans to get out of the business within a year or two, partly because it's impossible to figure out if a change in national politics will render him America's Most Wanted, and also because he doesn't want to have to explain to his daughter why he comes home smelling like sticky hydroponic chronic.

Still, if you know how to handle a pair of garden shears while stoned and want to make a ton of money, this might be a good career path for you. At least for a little while.

*Subject's name was changed to protect the innocent man following the laws of his state.

4/20 in Boulder preview: "An orgasm of cannabis consumption"

By Michael Roberts

Photo by Leland Rucker

4/20 2009 in Boulder: Orgasm alert!

​In an interview last week, NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre confirmed that he'll be attending the politically oriented 4/20 rally at Denver's Civic Center Park this year.

It'll be his second straight 4/20 in Colorado. Last year, he was at the bash at the University of Colorado at Boulder, which he likened to "an orgasm of cannabis consumption."

NORML@CU executive director Alex Douglas, who recently decried the university's ban against medical marijuana patients smoking in dorms, laughs when he hears St. Pierre's description. However, he thinks a more apt description for what's going to happen at CU tomorrow at 4:20 p.m. is "an orgasm of cannabis consumption -- and students standing up for what they believe in."

According to Douglas, "We're expecting the largest gathering in the history of 4/20 at CU -- between fifteen and twenty-thousand people at the Norlin Quad," directly in front of Norlin Library, which he calls "one of the most academic buildings on campus."

The Denver event has a full schedule of live music and speakers such as St. Pierre, who will be delivering the bash's "invocation." Unfortunately, because of what Douglas calls "limitations from the school," that's not possible at CU.

Choosing another location in Boulder would add such options, but "that wouldn't be the attention-grabber it is at CU," Douglas feels. "It wouldn't make the same statement. These students aren't going to classes. They're protesting for what they believe in at their university, and that statement alone makes it so popular and newsworthy.

"We have so many top-rated programs here, and I believe a CU education is really amazing, and really carries students far after they graduate. So with all the recognition CU gets, it makes having 4/20 on campus that much more meaningful."

Douglas, who's currently a CU senior, is far too young to have experienced the genesis of 4/20 celebrations at the university. But by virtue of his role with NORML@CU, he's become something of a historian of the event.

"Back in the '80s and early '90s, there were people who would go onto Farrand Field, which is a recreational field in the middle of the residential dorms on campus," he says. "They were never large groups. Then, in 1997, the owner of a prominent store in Boulder put out a flier for people to meet on Farrand Field on 4/20. It was kind of rainy that year, but some people did show up -- and from that point on, it really seemed to gain interest. Like, in 1998, there were 75 to a hundred people -- and it just kept building and increasing."

Then, in the middle of the last decade, "CU-Boulder began getting a lot of attention because of the tactics they used to stop the students from participating in the 4/20 event," Douglas continues. "One year, they shut down the field and hired outsourced security to stand around. And they also turned the sprinklers on -- but that didn't really stop anybody. And then, the next year, they took video and put stills online and tried to get students to identify the people. It was absolutely ridiculous. There was a lot of mockery going on."

As April 20, 2007 approached, "the university did something very smart in their eyes: They destroyed the field to make a new one, thinking that was going to help 4/20 simmer down," Douglas says. "But it actually wound up making it more interesting, because that's when it moved to Norlin Quad -- and that's where we really got to see the increase in numbers." This was also the first year Douglas attended personally.

In 2009, CU administrators tried a different tack: The university sent an e-mail to students under the signatures of interim chancellor Phil DiStefano, vice chancellor of student affairs Julie Wong and dean of students Deb Coffin arguing that participating in the rally "debases the reputation of your University and degree" and creates safety risks. Read the e-mail here.

"I actually saw that e-mail a long time before they sent it out," Douglas notes. "I told them, 'What are you doing? This is just going to make more people go. If you're really, truly, honestly worried about the safety of students, why don't you tell them, 'Please don't bring barbecues and trampolines.' And two days after they sent out that first e-mail, they sent out another one that said, 'If you go to 4/20, be safe.' And I was happy about that."

He's also pleased that this year, CU supervisors seem resigned to the 4/20 festivities going forward whether they like it or not. Although he'd be even more upbeat if the university actually supported what was going on.

"They think it's a black eye to the school, but to me, I think it's something they should embrace," he says. "These students pay a lot of money to go to CU, and they're standing up for what they believe in. The university thinks that's debasing the degree -- but why would taking a stand for something do that?"

As for Douglas, he's got a simple message for the thousands upon thousands of people expected to light up tomorrow afternoon: "Make sure you're safe, you treat everyone with respect, and you stand up for what you believe in."

Those sound like the ingredients for quite an orgasm.

Zamboni Takes A Dip In The Lake

From: http://www.totalprosports.com/

"Skating on thin ice" is most often used as an idiomatic expression, but at Keystone Resort in Colorado, that was literally the case for one unlucky zamboni.

Performing its regular maintenance to the largest groomed skating pond in North America on Tuesday night, the 7000-pound ice cleaner was too much for the ice to handle, causing the surface beneath it to crack. With the cameras rolling, some visitors captured some great footage of the zamboni falling through the sheet of ice.

Skaters were removed from the skating surface, and the ice was expected to be examined before reopening. As for the zamboni, staff had to wait until the following day to dig it out, however, it is believed that any damages will be reparable.

Oh, and we should probably mention the fact that no one was injured during the incident. Not even the zamboni driver. Another zamboni disaster averted!

Hat Tip - [Denver Post]

10 Most Incredible Images of Anticrepuscular Rays

From: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Anticrespulcular rays captured just outside Boulder, CO
Image: John Britton

How many people turn around when they watch a beautiful sunset? Not many, but here are a few good reasons why they should. Anticrepuscular rays are spectacular optical phenomena that are quite rare and they require the viewer to have his or her back to the sun or sunset point. Like crepuscular rays, covered here earlier, they are columns of sunlit air streaming through gaps in clouds. Yet while the former seem to converge from the sun, anticrepuscular rays converge toward the antisolar point – the point in the sky directly opposite the sun – creating some stunning effects.

Nothing supernatural here or is there?

Image: Carolina Ödman

Radiating from this ship in Ye Liou, Taiwan?

Image: Unknown photographer

Anticrepuscular rays actually do not radiate from one point but are parallel shafts of light. They produce an optical illusion explained by da Vinci’s linear perspective according to which at distance, all things convert to a central point. It’s similar to a long, straight road converging toward the horizon regardless of which way one is looking.

The illusion is even more spectacular when the anticrepuscular rays seem to converge from an object like the ship above or this rock at Horseshoe Canyon in Utah, below.

Image: Peggy Peterson

With a tinge of pink, in Florida:

Image: Daniel Herron

The hours around dusk and dawn are called the crepuscular hours (literally: relating to twilight) and have given this light phenomenon its name. Dusk and dawn are the times of the rays’ most frequent occurrences because then, the contrast between light and dark is the most obvious.

Seen from a plane while flying over Arizona:

Image: Craig Gould

If crepuscular rays are called God’s Fingers, would anticrepuscular rays be the opposite, the Devil’s Feelers maybe?

Divine intervention?

Image: Piccolo Namek

We can see why these images are often used for religious pamphlets:

Image: Luis Argerich

The image below seems to show anticrepuscular rays converging from a gorgeous glory, captured above the clouds on a flight to southwestern Tennessee. Below the clouds, the phenomenon would have been observed as crepuscular rays.

Rays and glory:

Image: Tim Stone

The last pic should clear up any questions about anticrepuscular rays:
Setting sun + well placed clouds + a bit of luck = anticrepuscular rays.

Panoramic view of anticrepuscular rays over Chandler, Arizona:

Image: Ian Schlueter

So next time you watch a spectacular sunset, make sure to turn around as something unusual if not even more spectacular may be awaiting you.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Two More Colorado Ski Towns May Legalize Weed This Year

Published by Sabs

By $@bs

Two more towns in CO may be voting this year on whether to decriminalize possession of the green. The Leadville City Council unanimously voted to instruct the city attorney to draft language that would change city laws in order to waive pot fines (woot woot)! Currently Leadville law allows for a fine of up to $100 for possession of less than an ounce of pot (boo-hiss). Aspen attorneys say that there are talks to bring a marijuana decriminalization move to voters there this fall. Denver and Breckenridge have already voted to waive criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of pot by adults over 21. Damn, but I’ma have to learn to ski. What?

To read the full story, click here.
For more by this author, visit: http://thesabs.com

Marijuana Potency Testing Business Thrives In Colorado

By Steve Elliott

Photo: Westword

Full Spectrum Laboratories: Finally, a more detailed analysis of marijuana than, "That's good shit, man!"

​One of the biggest question marks with the medical marijuana industry is the lack of quality control. As Joel Warner points out at Westword, it's difficult to know just how potent herbal medicines and edibles are until you use them.

Full Spectrum Laboratories to the rescue. The four-month-old Denver company is making a business of analyzing medical marijuana samples.

Dispensaries are delivering small samples (about 500 milligrams) of the pot they're getting from growers to Full Spectrum, which uses high-performance liquid chromatography to determine their potency. The tests reveal amounts of THC and other cannabinoids, the active ingredients of cannabis.

The service costs $120 per test, or $60 per test for 40 or more samples.

"Dispensaries are getting all this really cool stuff, but it turns out 80 percent of the edibles aren't being made properly, so it's not as active as it could be," said Bob Winnicki, Full Spectrum's 35-year-old co-owner.

Winnicki said the only other company he knows of running tests similar to Full Spectrum's is Harborside Health Center in California.

The company has been receiving more than 100 samples a week, and is already considering new ventures such as a certification process for marijuana growers.

Colorado's Green Rush: Medical marijuana

By Jim Spellman, CNN

Zack Moore says he will make about $6,000 after six months of growing marijuana.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Denver strip of medical marijuana businesses nicknamed "Broadsterdam" by locals
• State senator says it's easier to get a medical marijuana license than a liquor license
• Boom in marijuana business likened to 49ers during the gold rush

Denver, Colorado (CNN) -- Driving down Broadway, it's easy to forget you are in the United States. Amid the antique stores, bars and fast-food joints occupying nearly every block are some of Denver's newest businesses: medical marijuana dispensaries.

The locals call this thoroughfare "Broadsterdam." As in Amsterdam, Netherlands, these businesses openly advertise their wares, often with signs depicting large green marijuana leaves.

"The American capitalist system is working," said attorney and medical marijuana advocate Rob Corry.

It's a matter of supply and demand.

"The demand has always been there," he said, "and the demand is growing daily because more doctors are willing to do this, and now businesses, entrepreneurs, mom-and-pop shops are cropping up to create a supply."

Colorado voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000. For years, patients could get small amounts from "caregivers," the term for growers and dispensers who could each supply only five patients. In 2007, a court lifted that limit and business boomed.

Between 2000 and 2008, the state issued about 2,000 medical marijuana cards to patients. That number has grown to more than 60,000 in the last year.

State Sen. Chris Romer, a Democrat whose south Denver district includes Broadsterdam, said the state receives more than 900 applications a day.

"It's growing so fast, it's like the old Wild West," Romer said. "This reminds me of 1899 in Cripple Creek, Colorado, when somebody struck gold. Every 49er in the country is making it for Denver to open a medical marijuana dispensary."

They're calling it the Green Rush.

Interactive: Taking your medicine

Video: Marijuana family business

Corry, who has represented defendants in medical marijuana cases for years, is taking a different role: He has formed the Colorado Wellness Association, a trade group representing medical marijuana growers and providers.

"We want to be the Better Business Bureau of marijuana," he said.

On the 28th floor of a downtown building with a great view of the Rocky Mountains, Corry's office is adorned with vintage posters. One reads "Marihuana: Assassin of Youth!"

In the corner sits a plastic 6-foot marijuana plant. It's a prop from the TV show "Weeds," about a suburbanite mother who begins selling marijuana to make extra cash, Corry said.

The lagging economy has created an opening for medical marijuana, Corry said. As governments struggle for new sources of revenue, the prospect of taxing medical marijuana can be enticing.

The dispensaries are "paying taxes, hiring employees, renting out space, purchasing supplies and moving this economy along," he said. "Local governments need to get on the bandwagon and start realizing this is a major source of revenue and it can help us cure our bankrupt governments."

The association aims to get a larger supply of marijuana into the dispensaries and make sure it is safe, Corry said.

See the different ways to use marijuana

"What we're looking at is quality control," he said. "We have the technology to make sure there's no harmful toxins, pesticides."

Bob Winnicki is a 35-year-old analyst and co-owner of Full Spectrum Laboratories, which the wellness association uses for testing.

"We're trying to get away from smelling, texture, color" as a measure of quality cannabis, he said, adding that he prefers "hard analytical data."

Wearing a dress shirt and tie under a white lab coat, Winnicki opens envelopes with samples of marijuana dropped off by growers and dispensers. He puts the marijuana into test tubes and mixes it with a solution to create a greenish liquid. The test tube goes into a machine that performs a chemical analysis.

The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. But Winnicki said it's other, less understood components that may provide much of the claimed medicinal benefits.

Winnicki is not a marijuana user, he said. In July, he took a break from medical school to start the lab because he loves "the science" behind medical marijuana and thinks the market is wide open, he said.

"There's a lot of money to be had in it, and there's a lot of jobs and growth that can come out of it," he said.

Across the city, entrepreneurs are trying to get in on the Green Rush. In a northwest Denver neighborhood, Aaron Randle is tending to his new shop, Sunnyside Alternative Medicine.

He opened in September and said he has about 100 customers so far.

Read about a mother and son who grow marijuana

"I've been an electrician for eight years and before that I had a cable contracting company. It's always been a dream to work for myself," he said. "I'm very passionate about marijuana."

I personally haven't tried it yet, but I'm not saying someday before I'm done I won't.
--State Sen. Chris Romer on medical marijuana

Customers drop by his modest storefront operation and take a seat in a small waiting room. It's no different than a dentist's office except the magazine rack is stuffed with High Times, a publication for marijuana buffs, instead of Sports Illustrated and parenting magazines.

One at a time, customers survey a display case full of marijuana strains as well as marijuana-infused brownies, taffy and lollipops. Maui Waui and Purple Kush are popular strains. It costs $50 for an eighth of an ounce, $54 with tax. Purchases go into a plastic prescription bottle and then into a white bag that reads, "Prescriptions. Thank You!"

Randle proudly displays his business license on the wall.

"There's a lot of jobs created because of medical marijuana," he said. "You have employees that work at the dispensaries, then you have vendors that are getting paid. ... Real estate is booming right now. Warehouses are getting rented out for grow operations."

What Randle calls "vendors" are marijuana growers, a mix of people who operate "grow houses," where the plants are cultivated using elaborate lighting systems, or small-scale farmers who operate in rural areas.

Zack Moore is a grower with a small greenhouse operation in southern Colorado. He also is a medical marijuana patient. A snowboarding accident knocked out his two front teeth, and he smokes marijuana for relief from various aches and pains, he said.

He rolls a joint and lights up before having a seat in a rocking chair in the afternoon sun. With a basket of marijuana in front of him, he uses toenail scissors to trim the dried plants. When he's done, he will have made about $6,000 for six months work, he said.

Though he hopes to do better next season, he's happy to be working.

"I build houses for a living. There's not many houses to be built right now."

Not everyone is happy with the changes the legalization of medical marijuana has brought to the state.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said the amendment to the state constitution that allowed the new businesses is flawed.

"Colorado has seen a rapid proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries and patients since the Justice Department earlier this year announced it would not actively prosecute medical marijuana businesses -- despite the fact that marijuana remains an illegal drug under federal law," he said in an October statement.

"Amendment 20, written by marijuana-legalization proponents, is very vague. Our state lawmakers must give clarification to Amendment 20 and create a regulatory scheme for the growing medical marijuana industry."

State Sen. Romer concurs. "Right now it's easier to get a medical marijuana license than it is to get a liquor license," he said.

Currently, patients need to see a doctor only one time to get a recommendation that enables them to buy medical marijuana. Patients can choose to pay $90 to file with the state and receive a card identifying them as medical marijuana patients. The cards do not expire.

To become a provider or grower of medical marijuana, entrepreneurs need to have a patient name them as a caregiver when they file for a medical marijuana card.

Romer said he doesn't want to limit legitimately sick people's access to medical marijuana, but he doesn't want to see the state law turned into de facto legalization of marijuana.

"Amendment 20 never dealt with where you got the medical marijuana," he said. "We're going to license the growers and we're going to license the caregivers."

Romer wants to keep marijuana out of the hands of teenagers and hopes to channel some of the revenues into programs to treat substance abuse.

One of the most difficult aspects for lawmakers is how to define true medical need. Romer is keeping an open mind.

"I think you're having a lot of baby boomers who, all of us, are feeling a lot of aches and pains [and] are going to decide to try medical marijuana," he said. "I personally haven't tried it yet, but I'm not saying someday before I'm done I won't."

Oh Heavenly Weed; Boulder ministry lets you buy, smoke marijuana

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Heidi Hemmat KDVR Investigative Reporter

BOULDER, Colo. - You've heard of people taking advantage of Colorado's medical marijuana laws by faking an illness, getting a doctor's prescription and getting a license to smoke pot. But now there's a ministry where you can get higher than the heavens, smoke your sacrament, without any license required.

And you'll find it right in the heart of Boulder, Colorado.

The THC Ministry sells pot to pretty much anyone who agrees to use it for spiritual purposes.

We took a hidden camera to the Boulder office to see what it would take to buy 'religious' marijuana. As it turns out, it was easy.

All you need is $50 dollars in cash, a valid identification, and the "Cannabis Minister" who owns the business, or Ministry, will make you an "Ordained Cannabis Minister." After that, you can buy as much marijuana from him as you can smoke. No license, no doctor's prescription, no problem.

I asked, "So this works not just in Boulder, but Denver too?"

The minster replied, "It is international."

Heidi: "What do I say if (a police officer) pulls me over?"

Minister: "You are an Ordained Cannabis Minister."

The Minister says marijuana use for religious purposes is a constitutional right guaranteed by the first Amendment, which protects the freedom of religion.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, however, disagrees.

"The guy wants to make money selling drugs and he's adopted this as a defensive front," Suthers said. "I would suggest he's breaking the law."

And when I tried to use my Cannabis Ministries certificate to buy marijuana from a medical marijuana dispensary, I was quickly turned away.

Still, the minister selling the marijuana says it is "legal." And he says if you're caught with religious marijuana, you can fight it in court.

He may be right about that, a federal court recently ruled Rastafarians have the right to smoke marijuana for religious purposes.

Colorado ski town legalizes pot

AP – Joe Warner with the Denver paper Westword examines marijuana at Lotus Medical in Denver on Monday, Oct. …

DENVER – The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.

Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote. The measure would allow adults over 21 to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

The measure is largely symbolic because pot possession remains a state crime for people without medical clearance. But supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.

The vote comes as communities nationwide are struggling with how to enforce pot laws at a time when medical marijuana has surged in popularity.

Army Accidentally Grows Pot At Rocky Mt. Arsenal

Reporting
Shaun Boyd

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) ―

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A scene from Copter 4 Tuesday of Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

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A scene from Copter 4 Tuesday of Rocky Mountain Arsenal. CBS

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The Army has made an unusual and unwanted discovery at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal northeast of Commerce City.

They are in charge of cleaning up the arsenal, a job that includes reseeding some areas. When their seed started to grow, they realized it was marijuana.

It isn't commercial grade, but it's still an illegal drug. It's called ditch weed or feral hemp, the kind that grows in the wild in some places.

Charlie Scharmin with the U.S. Army is in charge of the cleanup. He said he was quite surprised when he was told marijuana was growing at the arsenal.

"It's not something you expect in an environmental cleanup job," says Scharmin. "It was a little surprising."

Scharmin says they were finishing containment of two large contamination areas at the former chemical weapons production site. He said they laid down rock and clay, then put vegetation on top.

"The specification is that we acquire weed-free mulch from the supplier," explains Scharmin.

The Army blames the supplier for the snafu. It says it bought the mulch for its ground cover from a supplier in Kansas where the low-grade weed is common. Some of it apparently got mixed in with the grass.

The Army made the first discovery of hemp on the property in June. So far they have picked about 100 plants that Scharmin says are low grade. He says they plan to mow, burn or maybe even have bison who roam on the land eat the rest.

"(The) Fish and Wildlife Service does not seem to have any concern about having bison out there (with the plant present)," Scharmin said.

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Fine for pot in Denver could go down to $1

DENVER - A city panel in charge of overseeing marijuana possession crimes in Denver recommended on Wednesday that the fine for possession be set at $1.

If Denver's presiding judge accepts the recommendation from the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel, the fine would be the lowest in the entire nation for marijuana possession.

The panel was created by Mayor John Hickenlooper in December 2007 after voters passed an ordinance that made it so adult marijuana possession is the city's "lowest lawn enforcement priority."

In May 2008, the city attorney's office made it so those cited for the crime can mail in their fines instead of having to appear in court. At that time, the city attorney's office assigned the value of the fine at $50.

"By setting the fine at just $1, we are sending a message to Denver officials that the era of citing adults for using a less harmful drug than alcohol is over. It's simply not worth the city's time or resources," said panel member and SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert, who coordinated the successful Denver marijuana initiatives.

Lt. Ernest Martinez with the Denver Police Department is also part of the panel and voted against lowering the fine.

"There's no indication that there's a problem with the fine schedule," Martinez said. "The panel is going outside the bounds of the language of the ordinance."

Martinez thinks there should be more dialogue about the changes.

Breckenridge: One small step closer to legalizing pot

By Joe Tone in Colorado Crimes, News

Small amounts if this could soon be legal in Breckenridge.

​In the battle to become Ski Country's most weed-friendly destination, the town of Breckenridge has moved one step closer to legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The town clerk has certified a petition circulated by Sensible Breckenridge, part of the larger advocacy group Sensible Colorado, verifying that at least 500 of the signatures were not signed "Cheech" or "Stoney McStonerton." The town council will now have a chance to vote on the measure, which would "remove local penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults twenty-one or older," Sensible Breckenridge said in a release. If the town council gets all high and forgets to vote on August 11, a measure will appear on November's ballot allowing voters to decide.

And no: Just because Breck's totally your favorite place to board and you'd totally go there every weekend if this law takes effect, that doesn't make you eligible to vote. Nice effort though.

Phish Fiasco: Ticketmaster Glitch Releases Red Rocks Passes Early, Then Cancels Orders

Photo: Kravitz/FilmMagic

A week before tickets for Phish’s four-night stand at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre were supposed to go on sale, a Ticketmaster glitch allowed Phish fans to scoop up four-day passes to the event last night, Glide Magazine reports. However, the feeding frenzy was short-lived as Ticketmaster quickly halted the sale and canceled all orders, further angering fans who were already frustrated over Live Nation’s failed Phish ticket release last month.

Tickets to the Red Rocks shows weren’t supposed to go on sale until March 26th, but eagle-eyed Phans noticed that Ticketmaster had apparently begun selling its allotment of four-day passes early. Rumors quickly swirled that Phish may have been trying to sidestep scalpers and reward the true fans with a surprise presale. However, it became apparent that the Ticketmaster mistake was a routine glitch.

One Glide commenter points out that the Ticketmaster Contract of Service reads “If… you are able to order a ticket before its scheduled on-sale or presale date or you are able to order a ticket that was not supposed to have been released for sale, then: Ticketmaster will have the right to cancel that ticket” — which is precisely what happened. When the error was recognized by Ticketmaster, Phans began receiving e-mails saying their orders had been canceled. (Some of them may not have gotten the message yet: eBay is awash with sellers offering the four-night pass at roughly $2800-$4000 per ticket.)

Fans will now have to try again on March 26th to score tickets to the Red Rocks shows, the band’s first at the venue in nearly 13 years. While you wait for the proper on-sale date, check out our full coverage of the band’s return to the stage at the Hampton Coliseum: