US medical cannabis company MedPharm Holdings subsidiary MedPharm Research has been approved for a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Schedule I Researcher License.

Acquiring this was no mean feat as the DEA is still particularly sensitive to anything cannabis related.

“It’s been a long road to getting a federally approved license,” said Albert Gutierrez, CEO of MedPharm Research. “We are thrilled and honored that the DEA saw the importance and significance of the work we do at MedPharm. We proved to them that we deserve this license.”

As expected, marijuana-related arrests are down and tax revenue is up, but other trends are less clear.

More than seven years since Colorado became the first state to allow cannabis to be sold at stores for recreational use, pot arrests are down, marijuana-impaired driving cases are up and school expulsions are both up and down.

Governor Polis is being faced with a lawsuit over House Bill 1317, a bill that negatively affected students who were meant to benefit from the law that allows cannabis use by medical patients in public schools. 

Benjamin Wann, a cannabis patient, and his parents, Amber and Brad, supported Polis back in May when he signed the law that expanded access to cannabis in schools. This is something they had been fighting for over the past few years, and they were happy to see it become a reality. 

However, when a bill that restricted the medical program was introduced just a few days later, Governor Polis allegedly stopped communicating with the family and other advocates about their wants and needs. 

State regulators are helping legitimize the industry, build consumer confidence and expand this promising market.

While the Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) continues to drag its feet in forging a legal path for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of hemp-derived products, state regulators are keeping up with the demands of this evolving market and adopting increasingly more nuanced and more sophisticated regulations for these products.

Since 2012, 19 states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana for adults over the age of 21. And 37 states have legalized medical marijuana – meaning that a majority of Americans have access to cannabis, whether medically or recreationally.

Three states-New Mexico, Virginia, and South Dakota-passed legalization in recent months, and the laws took effect in late June and early July.

In South Dakota, medical and recreational cannabis ballot measures passed in the November elections. But only the medical program appears to be underway as recreational marijuana faces challenges.

Denver recently legalized cannabis delivery and smoking lounges, after years of debate following Colorado’s early legalization. Now, the first business in the city looking to deliver has officially submitted an application. 

The business, Doobba LLC, applied for a no premise transport license and delivery permit. Their hope is to become Denver’s first cannabis delivery company. 

Earlier this year in April, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a publication that included changes to state “wholesale food, industrial hemp and shellfish regulations.” Some of these regulations officially went into effect on July 1, and now, the state will move forward into a new era of legal cannabis, but one that could potentially cause problems.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill on Thursday that tightens limits on cannabis concentrates and puts restrictions on medical marijuana patients and their physicians. The measure, House Bill 1317 (HB21-1317), also funds research into the effect that high-potency marijuana products can have on developing minds.

When you think of liberal cannabis laws, Colorado is probably near the top of the list. However, according to a recent MJBizDaily article, the Colorful State will likely add restrictions to their marijuana industry, pending the signature of Gov. Jared Polis. If passed, House Bill 1317 would: