{"id":7598,"date":"2017-07-20T21:27:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T21:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2723014"},"modified":"2017-07-20T21:27:30","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T21:27:30","slug":"feds-visit-colorado-to-research-marijuana-regulation-black-market-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/feds-visit-colorado-to-research-marijuana-regulation-black-market-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds visit Colorado to research marijuana regulation, black market, enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/feds-visit-colorado-to-research-marijuana-regulation-black-market-enforcement\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Jul 20, 2017, 12:58 pm \u2022 Updated: Jul 21, 2017, 4:26 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\">Alicia Wallace<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Colorado officials who oversee the state\u2019s marijuana agencies are sharing details about a fact-finding visit earlier this week by federal law enforcement and drug policy administrators.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/20\/justice-department-marijuana-colorado-meetings\/84143\/\">Feds hold closed-doors meetings with Colorado officials known to have doubts about weed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Five representatives from the federal government met Tuesday morning in Denver with nearly two-dozen state officials for a 2-and-a-half-hour meeting about Colorado\u2019s legal marijuana regime, said Mark Bolton, marijuana adviser to Gov. John Hickenlooper. The meeting preceded a similarly focused closed-door gathering on Wednesday between federal agents and government officials in Colorado Springs, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kktv.com\/content\/news\/Marijuana-meeting-with-Colorado-Springs-officials-and-feds-closed-to-public-435319233.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KKTV 11<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/coloradosprings.com\/colorado-springs-officials-hold-closed-door-meetings-with-feds-about-marijuana\/article\/1607494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Colorado Springs Gazette<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Bolton told The Cannabist that Tuesday\u2019s meeting resulted from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/27\/marijuana-meeting-ag-jeff-sessions-colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper\/78541\/\">Hickenlooper\u2019s request to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions<\/a> in April to visit Colorado to get a first-hand look at the state\u2019s first-of-a-kind attempt to regulate and tax adult-use marijuana sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur purpose was to convey to them the strength of our regulatory system and our enforcement system and our policies and practices,\u201d said Bolton, who was among the meeting\u2019s attendees on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Those discussions spanned the comprehensive nature of the state system, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/06\/08\/colorado-marijuana-laws-home-grows-plant-counts-law-enforcement\/81109\/\">efforts to cull gray and black market activity<\/a>, and the establishment of youth prevention and adult education campaigns, Bolton said. The federal officials were especially interested in the state\u2019s responses to unexpected issues as well as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/good-to-know\/\">public education campaigns<\/a>, he added.<\/p>\n<p>The federal officials did not broach the topic of any immediate or future <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/special-report-marijuana-in-the-age-of-trump\/\">federal enforcement activities<\/a>\u00a0against the industry, he said.<\/p>\n<p>The federal agents present represented the deputy attorney general, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/white-house-office-of-national-drug-control-policy\/\">Office of National Drug Control Policy<\/a>, the Domestic Policy Council and the State Department. Colorado officials included state Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, who had also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/01\/colorado-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-cynthia-coffman\/74644\/\">invited Sessions to visit Colorado<\/a> earlier this year, and representatives from agencies such as the Department of Revenue, Department of Public Health and Environment, Department of Public Safety, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Department of Regulatory Agencies, Bolton said.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper did not attend the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think (the federal officials) viewed this as an educational opportunity,\u201d Bolton said.<\/p>\n<p>Coffman, in a joint statement with Hickenlooper\u2019s office, said they \u201cwere pleased\u201d the federal government accepted their invitations to visit Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe meeting focused on sharing Colorado\u2019s experience creating and executing a robust and effective regulatory and enforcement system, and our continuing efforts to protect public health and public safety,\u201d officials said in the statement. \u201cOur conversation with the federal delegation was productive and we look forward to continued collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice Department officials declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/20\/justice-department-marijuana-colorado-meetings\/84143\/\">The meetings came to light<\/a> following a report Wednesday by KKTV 11 in Colorado Springs. Earlier in the day, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, the city\u2019s police chief and local community members met in private with representatives from several federal agencies, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kktv.com\/content\/news\/Marijuana-meeting-with-Colorado-Springs-officials-and-feds-closed-to-public-435319233.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KKTV 11 report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of it was around sensitive case investigations; that\u2019s another reason why it couldn\u2019t be public,\u201d Suthers, the former state attorney general, told KKTV 11. \u201cSo without getting into that, I would tell you that probably most of the discussion centered around the huge black market that exists for marijuana in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some industry members, however, balked at the closed-door nature of the meetings and the participation of individuals known to oppose legalization, including Suthers.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Warf, executive director of the Southern Colorado Cannabis Council, <a href=\"http:\/\/gazette.com\/colorado-springs-officials-hold-closed-door-meetings-with-feds-about-marijuana\/article\/1607494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told The Gazette<\/a> that he feared the meetings would give federal enforcement officers \u201cthe in to come after the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Denver-based Marijuana Industry Group called for future meetings to be more representative of the state\u2019s cannabis industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn our earliest conversations following Sessions\u2019 appointment, we expressed a desire for open, fact-based dialogue,\u201d Kristi Kelly, MIG executive director, told The Cannabist via email. \u201cIf these conversations in Colorado Springs (and Denver) represent initial steps in that process, we hope this spurs productive discussion around cannabis issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarijuana Industry Group has worked in responsible partnership with state and local officials over the years on a number of issues, from improvements in our regulatory system, to tackling impaired driving, youth prevention and safe consumption. When appropriate, we hope industry, the patient community, and other stakeholders are invited to participate in discussions as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was not immediately clear how or whether the discussions would factor into a report due to Sessions next week from a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/07\/jeff-sessions-marijuana-justice-department-policies\/76857\/\">Justice Department task force convened<\/a> to review policies in the areas of violent crime, immigration and drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>The meetings come amid a potentially watershed period for marijuana in America. As a growing number of states have adopted medical or adult-use cannabis laws, dialogue has increased as to how the nation should approach, enforce, regulate and research something that remains a Schedule I illegal substance.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesman for the governor\u2019s office in Washington state, which followed Colorado in implementing a recreational cannabis program, said no similar meetings have taken place with federal officials. The press secretary for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown did not indicate whether federal agents visited to discuss marijuana policy but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/marijuana\/index.ssf\/2017\/06\/oregons_top_federal_prosecutor.html\">referenced a May meeting<\/a> between state officials and U.S. Attorney Billy Williams regarding black market concerns.<\/p>\n<p><em>Cannabist digital producer Aleta Labak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch Hickenlooper\u2019s full interview with Chuck Todd on \u201cMeet the Press Daily\u201d in April 2017:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/feds-visit-colorado-to-research-marijuana-regulation-black-market-enforcement.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. In her 14 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned topics such as the economy, natural foods, airlines, biotech, retail,&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Colorado officials who oversee the state&#8217;s marijuana agencies are sharing details about a fact-finding visit earlier this week by federal law enforcement and drug policy administrators. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,6964,2097,6813,77,6814,6815,5667,6858,9,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6816,6967,4665,6818,2655,6819,6820,5673,6860,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}