Last month, a warning was raised by a chemist on the constituents of delta-8 THC, its production techniques, and other unknowns.

Delta-8 THC is fast becoming an ever-present compound. While this may seem like good news, it is a thing of concern. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this compound, with a lot of concerns about the production, labeling, and marketing strategy.

Colorado has recently banned sales of delta-8 THC products, and other states like Vermont have already removed it from the shelves.

US medical cannabis company MedPharm has been awarded a research grant to evaluate cannabinoid product label claims of potency.

The three-year study funded by the state of Colorado will delve into trends in consistency between laboratories, shelf life and label accuracy within product categories.

“The proposed work will allow a direct comparison of product content to product labels, enabling an independent quantification of any systematic biases that may exist across product types or testing facilities,” said MedPharm Director of Chemistry Dr. Tyrell Towle.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill on Wednesday that would expand access to medical cannabis for school children in need by removing obstacles to its administration.

The new legislation, SB 21-056, removes the discretion from school principals to set policies that regulate storing and administering cannabis-based medicines.

The first shipment of legal hemp to cross state lines in the U.S. by railroad in 84 years departed from California, fittingly, on 4/20.

Approximately 17,000 pounds (7,700 kilograms) of hemp, grown at the 550-acre Golden State Hemp farm in Fresno, Calif., was shipped by Union Pacific rail to the company’s research lab in Denver, Colo.

“Today’s first shipment by rail is another goal in our company mission of ‘Changing the world one acre at a time,’” Jeff Friedland, co-founder and CEO of Golden State Hemp, said in a release.

It is fair to say the legal cannabis industry has exploded over the past two decades, ever since the state of California got the ball rolling in 1996 by legalizing medical cannabis, followed quickly by Colorado.

Since then, we’ve seen a total of 36 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands all approve comprehensive, fully legal medical cannabis programs.

Colorado was one of the first states to decriminalize cannabis in 1975, then establish legal medical and recreational cannabis programs in 2000 and 2012.

Earlier this month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

While advocates say it's a huge win, it could mean big losses for dispensaries in Colorado.

Since 2014, when recreational marijuana went on sale in the Centennial State, business has boomed for Colorado dispensary owners with more than $10 billion in marijuana sales and billions more reaped in tax revenue.

It has also been an economic boost for those in the tourism industry. People from around the country come to Colorado every year to consume cannabis products.

It’s possible that Colorado could end up with double the legal amount of cannabis possession allowed, but HB 21-1090 is still making its way through the state legislative process. 

When Colorado legalized the retail sale of marijuana in 2012, savvy entrepreneurs saw an opportunity beyond setting up shop in population centers like Denver and Boulder. 

They realized if they opened cannabis businesses in small towns along the state’s borders, they could attract customers from Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, where pot remained against the law but was still plenty popular. 

“The border model was a great model,” said Josh Bleem, who lives near Fort Collins but owns CannaCo in Trinidad, one of the first dispensaries people pass as they enter Colorado on Interstate 25 from New Mexico. “We took advantage of that.”

In honor of this very special, 4/20, semi-post-pandemic holiday week, the city of Denver has an exciting announcement. On Monday, Denver City Council approved cannabis smoking lounges. This exciting news coincided perfectly with the cannabis holiday, getting city residents excited for what is to come.