TV ad by a United States congressman focusing solely on the need for marijuana reform and offering strong words of support for the cannabis industry...

"Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat representing Oregon, is running local television ads urging the federal government to butt out and let states decide whether to legalize marijuana and related businesses.

Blumenauer has long been a public supporter of the cannabis movement, backing numerous measures in recent years that would help the marijuana industry. This takes that a step further. In fact, having a sitting federal lawmaker run such a marijuana-specific ad as part of a campaign is unprecedented – and it could open the door for other officials to promote pro-marijuana views as well.

“To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that a member of Congress has used campaign funds specifically to produce an ad that is solely related to their support for marijuana policy reform,” said Morgan Fox, communications manager for the Marijuana Policy Project. “This is certainly indicative of a shift occurring among lawmakers who see the growing public support for making marijuana legal and realize that they don’t have to be afraid to tackle this subject anymore."”

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"Labels on edible pot like the difficulty guidelines on ski slopes"

"A task force gathered to brainstorm ways to educate consumers, including a standard warning system on popular edibles, which is the industry term for marijuana that has been concentrated and infused into food or drink.

One idea was to fashion labels on edible pot like the difficulty guidelines on ski slopes. Weak marijuana products would have green dots, grading up to black diamonds for the most potent edibles.

"We should have a marking so that when people come in, they know what they're getting," said Chris Halsor of the Colorado District Attorneys' Council."

more of the story: Task force mulls best options for edible marijuana

Retired Supreme Court Justice Stevens: Asked Should Feds Legalize Marijuana

Retired Justice John Paul Stevens made some news in an interview with NPR's Scott Simon on Thursday 4/24/14. Scott asked him if the federal government should legalize marijuana.

"Yes," Stevens replied. "I really think that that's another instance of public opinion [that's] changed. And recognize that the distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages is really not much of a distinction. Alcohol, the prohibition against selling and dispensing alcoholic beverages has I think been generally, there's a general consensus that it was not worth the cost. And I think really in time that will be the general consensus with respect to this particular drug."

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Statement from Michael Elliott, Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group

Statement from Michael Elliott, Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group, in response to Governor Chris Christie's statements about Colorado's marijuana program.  

"Colorado now has about 500 pages of state marijuana law and regulation. Our program includes:

• State and local licensing;
• Background checks;
• Financial disclosures;
• Security requirements such as mandatory video surveillance, alarm systems, and limited access areas;
• Consumer safety requirements such as child-resistant packaging, detailed labeling with warnings, and testing for potency and harmful contaminants like mold and mildew;
• Seed-to-sale tracking with mandatory RFID tags; and      
• A local option for cities and counties to prohibit licensed marijuana businesses. 

The United States has fought the war on marijuana for 45 years, and spent over a trillion dollars.  And even though the United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the world, marijuana is still universally available, particularly in our schools. 

While the vast majority of Americans agree that the war on marijuana has been a failure, credible alternatives have been lacking.  Colorado is now showing the rest of the country an alternative that promotes freedom, revenue, and safety.   

Coloradans are choosing control over chaos.  We are choosing a model that includes accountability, transparency, security, taxes, jobs, and safety.  We reject the model of alcohol prohibition, where criminals like Al Capone dominate the market through violence, corruption, and fear. 

Indeed, Coloradans overwhelmingly support this program. We are proud of the robust regulatory structure Colorado has developed, and as representatives of this new industry, we pledge to continue working to enhance safety, transparency, and accountability."

Colorado policymakers fire back at Gov. Christie over pot comments

Few people still take New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie seriously as a presidential contender, which may explain the governor’s comments Monday derisively referring to this critical swing state as a land of “head shops popping up on every corner.”

During a radio appearance Monday, Christie responded emphatically to a caller who asked about legalizing marijuana.

“You say it’s going to come down the road,” he said, interrupting the caller. “You know it may come down the road when I’m gone. It’s not going to come while I’m here.”

Christie, a Republican thought to be considered the GOP’s 2016 front-runner until he got bogged down in a scandal late last year, showed little grasp of an obvious reality: that voters here and in Washington state — not governors — are the ones who had the power to legalize recreational marijuana

Read full article @ FOX 31 Denver

To Keep Business Growing, Owners Rebrand Pot's Stoner Image

From the outside, Jan Cole's recreational marijuana store The Farm in Boulder, Colo., just feels welcoming. Big glass windows let in natural light, and the walls are painted in soothing earth tones. Cole used her background in spa management to build a "warm and inviting" pot shop that puts customers at ease.

In fact, the store's name, The Farm, is so inconspicuous, "we have a lot of people who come in think that we might be an organic food grocer or something," she says.

And that's exactly who Cole is trying to attract: the tote-bag carrying, socially conscious, natural-food crowd. She advertises her cannabis as pesticide-free, organic and, of course, locally grown.

"I don't think we'll ever be as big as Whole Foods, but Whole Foods is a good example of the type of clientele that we attract," she says.

This all reflects Cole's attempt to break away from the pack. With recreational marijuana use now legal in Colorado, marijuana businesses are finding themselves competing for customers in tight marketplaces.

About 200 recreational marijuana stores have opened in Colorado since Jan. 1. And as the market becomes more and more saturated, everyone is looking for an edge.


Reaching Beyond 'First Adopters'

Jennifer DeFalco is creative director for Cannabrand, a marketing agency named for a mashup of "cannabis" and "branding." DeFalco and her business partner are banking on Colorado's marijuana industry becoming big business — one in need of flashy logos, memorable catchphrases and eye-catching ads.

"Cannabis is here to stay. It's not going anywhere. The industry is just beginning," she says. Because it's so new, DeFalco says that most people who have already popped into a recreational pot shop are the first adopters — people who have tried marijuana before. But the whole point of marketing is to grow a business by reaching people who are on the fence about trying marijuana.

"So part of the rebranding of cannabis is really just making the dispensaries more inviting and more welcoming," she says.

But when it comes to advertising, it's not as simple as buying ads on the TV or radio. State rules in Colorado forbid shops from advertising on media where more than 30 percent of the intended audience is younger than 21. That kind of audience data is not readily available. If challenged, it could be tough for marijuana businesses to prove kids aren't seeing a particular ad.

"One thing that is interesting and important for the industry is this question of exposure to kids," says Margaret Campbell, a marketing professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. To reach new markets, she says, the industry as a whole needs to strip away the marijuana user stigma.

"[Businesses are] going to try to go beyond their core quote-unquote 'stoner user' to expand and have it be acceptable at cocktail parties," she says.


Losing The Stoner Stigma 

At a recent cocktail party at a gallery in Denver's arts district, Amy Dannemiller is trying to do just that: build a new business around removing the stoner stereotype.

Each month, Dannemiller, who uses the alter ego Jane West when planning pot gatherings, throws upscale parties where attendees bring their own marijuana and pay a $95 charge for fancy hors d'oeuvres and an open bar.

"It's just basically a big social event where everyone can enjoy cannabis like they would a glass of wine," she says.

But even the party's attendees say that, culturally and legally, marijuana isn't yet the same as a glass of wine — employers can still drug-test workers. One woman at the party, for example, declines to give her name, saying her job could be at stake.

"That's the hurdle. People can't be associated with it," she says. "Everyone does it, but they can't tell anyone about it."

That's a tricky legal hurdle that'll take a lot more than advertising and branding to overcome.

MMJ "edibles" vending machine on display in Avon, CO

"AVON – Stephen Shearin believes his company is evolving the marijuana industry by creating a vending machine for pot and pot products.

"It's extremely cool this is the first one," Shearin said.

Shearin is the chief operating officer for Tranzbyte, a company that owns American Green. American Green is the manufacturer of a vending machine called the ZaZZZ, which starts by verifying a person's age through their driver's license.

"They would swipe their driver's license at which point multiple cameras would allow us to use some advanced biometrics to make absolutely certain that the person who swiped the card is the owner of that card," Shearin said.

The ZaZZZ machine could contain marijuana, pot edibles, and other pot-related products. But, it will not be located in the open public.

"These are designed at this point legally to go inside dispensaries," Shearin said.

He compares the machines to automated express checkouts at the grocery store. He says the point of vending machine is help business move fasters inside marijuana dispensaries.

Greg Honan is the owner of Herbal Elements, a dispensary in Eagle-Vail. His store will be the first to house the ZaZZZ vending machine. Honan says the pot vending machine actually makes his product more secure."

Read full article @ 9news Denver

"With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, entrepreneurs are finding new ways to market the multitude of products being developed. One big marketing tool is a marijuana vending machine."