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DEA to consider loosening federal marijuana restrictions
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Approved, National, The Daily Signal

DEA to consider loosening federal marijuana restrictions

By Brett Rowland | The Daily Signal The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to hold a formal hearing next week on its plan to reschedule marijuana at the federal level. The proposal is to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, where it would join ketamine and anabolic steroids. In May, the Department of Justice announced that it had submitted a rule that would ease restrictions on cannabis, but the change falls short of the full legalization or decriminalization sought by some advocates. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
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Colorado Springs retail marijuana ban still failing, according to final unofficial election results
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Colorado Springs retail marijuana ban still failing, according to final unofficial election results

By Breeanna Jent | The Gazette, via Colorado Politics Colorado Springs residents appear to have rejected a ballot question that sought to more permanently ban recreational marijuana sales in the city, according to updated election results from the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Thursday night. Final unofficial results updated at 8:23 p.m. showed the City Council-backed Question 2D, which proposes amending the city charter to prohibit recreational marijuana establishments in Colorado Springs, was failing 49.4% to 50.6%. In total, 387,297 ballots have been counted for just under 78% voter turnout, according to clerk's data. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Bzdek: Is Colorado paying enough attention to marijuana’s toll?
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Approved, Commentary, gazette.com, State

Bzdek: Is Colorado paying enough attention to marijuana’s toll?

By Vince Bzdek | Commentary, The Gazette Just before Javonte Hill got out of the Navy and settled in Denver, he was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression but had not sought treatment yet. His girlfriend, an occasional marijuana user, recommended he try pot as a way “to chill out.” “You know I’m not like a pot smoker. I just got out of the military,” he recently told a New York Times reporter. But he’d heard it was a much safer alternative to alcohol, and he wouldn’t wake up hung over, so why not? READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE GAZETTE Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author t...
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Kamala Harris urges black men to vote for her to legalize marijuana — despite convicting 1,900 as DA
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Approved, National, New York Post

Kamala Harris urges black men to vote for her to legalize marijuana — despite convicting 1,900 as DA

By Steven Nelson | New York Post Vice President Kamala Harris urged black men to back her presidential candidacy Tuesday by pledging to legalize marijuana — despite overseeing more than 1,900 marijuana convictions as San Francisco district attorney between 2004 and 2011. Harris, 59, made the statement as she prepared for an afternoon interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God — on whose program she claimed in 2019 she had smoked marijuana in college, inviting allegations of hypocrisy over her prosecutorial record. “Kamala Harris will legalize recreational marijuana — breaking down unjust barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back and making sure Black Americans have opportunities to succeed as the marketplace takes shape,” she tweeted ahead of her...
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School board leaders in Southern Colorado campaign against local marijuana measures
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

School board leaders in Southern Colorado campaign against local marijuana measures

By Eric Young | The Gazette Elected officials from across the Colorado Springs region are lending their voices to a campaign opposing recreational marijuana sales in the city.  On Sunday, an unknown number of El Paso County voters received a mass text message from Colorado Springs School District 11 Board President Parth Melpakam calling for their vote on a pair of recreational marijuana measures.  The message was accompanied by a video featuring Melpakam, Academy District 20 Board President Aaron Salt and School District 49 Board President Lori Thompson. In both messages, the board leaders urged recipients to vote "yes" on ballot question 2D and "no" on ballot question 300. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Recreational marijuana sales locations limited by city council in Colorado Springs
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

Recreational marijuana sales locations limited by city council in Colorado Springs

By Breeanna Jent | The Gazette A final vote from the Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday strongly limits where marijuana shops that want to sell recreational marijuana can operate, a move a resident-backed marijuana campaign described as a "backdoor ban" on retail cannabis sales locally. The council voted 7-2 a second time to preemptively prohibit facilities that sell recreational marijuana from operating within 1 mile of K-12 schools and residential child care and drug or alcohol treatment facilities. Councilwomen Yolanda Avila and Nancy Henjum remained opposed. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Colorado Springs council to cast second vote on recreational marijuana ordinance Tuesday
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

Colorado Springs council to cast second vote on recreational marijuana ordinance Tuesday

By BREEANNA JENT | The Gazette The Colorado Springs City Council is scheduled Tuesday to cast its second vote on a proposed ordinance that will likely prevent recreational cannabis sales throughout much of the city, a move some officials worry could circumvent residents' wishes. On Sept. 10, the council voted 7-2 in favor of an ordinance that will modify city code and preemptively prohibit marijuana facilities that sell recreational cannabis from operating within 1 mile of K-12 schools and residential child care and drug or alcohol treatment facilities. Many other Front Range governments do not regulate retail marijuana facility zoning as rigidly as Colorado Springs could under this rule. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Xcel drained its $94M energy efficiency budget after marijuana growers took notice — and wants $34M more
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Xcel drained its $94M energy efficiency budget after marijuana growers took notice — and wants $34M more

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun “Unexpectedly high customer interest” led Xcel to pull the plug on a program helping businesses green their operations — for now. After shooting through most of its energy efficiency budget for this year, Xcel Energy has suspended all its programs for businesses and asked state regulators for an additional $34 million above the $93.6 million already agreed on. In a filing to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Xcel Energy’s Colorado subsidiary — Public Service Company of Colorado — said that there was “unexpectedly high customer interest and participation in the company’s electric energy efficiency offerings this year.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Marijuana user cannot be banned from gun ownership, U.S. court rules
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Marijuana user cannot be banned from gun ownership, U.S. court rules

By Nate Raymond | Denver Gazette A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a pot-smoking gun owner in Texas cannot be prosecuted for violating a federal ban on users of illegal drugs owning firearms, saying it is unconstitutional to disarm her based on her past drug habits. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the prosecution had violated Paola Connelly's right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment citing a landmark 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights. "Marijuana user or not, Paola is a member of our political community and thus has a presumptive right to bear arms," U.S. Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, wrote for a three-judge panel. READ THE FU...
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Colorado Springs City Council sends sales ban of recreational marijuana to voters
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Colorado Springs City Council sends sales ban of recreational marijuana to voters

By Mary Shinn | Colorado Politics, via Colorado Springs Gazette Colorado Springs residents could see competing recreational marijuana ballot questions in November.  The Colorado Springs City Council voted 8 to 1 to send a question to the ballot that would ban recreational marijuana stores in the city's charter. A charter amendment would trump a city ordinance.  The vote followed extensive public testimony that touched on the potential harms of marijuana, the benefits of expanding sales in town and letting voters decide how to regulate marijuana.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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