Now home to more than 500 marijuana stores, Colorado has produced over $50 million in tax revenue and lowered unemployment rates and growth statewide. However, there remain large hurdles for business owners who are pioneers in this burgeoning new segment of the economy.
‘”Marijuana tourism” is creating significant discord between Colorado and its neighboring states. In fact, Nebraska and Oklahoma are suing Colorado in the US Supreme Court, arguing they’ve suffered “direct and significant harm” from pot’s crossing the borders.’
Read full article in Mercola.com.
“You might think legalization would have put an end to underground pot sales in Colorado, but actually the opposite is true — the black market is booming. In Colorado, 40 percent of marijuana is still grown and sold illegally, and recent signs suggest the same may be true for Washington State.”
“American marijuana businesses are forced to deal only in cash because banks refuse to bankroll them, in fear of the repercussions from federal drug trafficking laws.”
“You can be fired for testing positive for cannabis, even if medical marijuana is legal in your state … On June 15, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Dish Network was perfectly within its right to fire a call center employee for using medical marijuana (and testing positive on a drug test), because pot remains illegal under federal law.”
‘It can sometimes be challenging finding accurate, science-based information about cannabis … “The reason why it’s difficult is that the preponderance of research funds have been to show harm related to cannabis, as a drug of abuse…” According to Dr. Margaret Gedde, MD, PhD, owner and founder of Gedde Whole Health and the Clinicians’ Institute of Cannabis Medicine ‘ Soon enough, other states will have to face the same challenges regarding policies against medical cannabis. These problems are likely to grow unless Congress takes action by changing the federal and drug-trafficking laws.
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