More info is in a Denver Post article:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_17581144?source=bb

I just got a response to my questions and a version of the second amendment being drafted now.The second amendment would require tamper-proof packaging and a visual barrier package.The first amendment would allow for lollipops and candy but not those that are confusingly similar to commercial products such as ‘Pot Tarts’ that are packaged and marketed like Pop Tarts and Baby Janes that look like Baby Ruth. I still feel like this may be slippery and open to a great deal of interpretation.She said they should be adjourning in the next half hour at which time the hearing will begin and the final drafts of these amendments will be read before testimony that apparantly is a very, very long line.

With respect to the balance of the bill, there are some good things for businesspersons.  The bill would limit the two-year residency requirement to owners and managers, meaning that mere employees will no longer have to be two-year residents of Colorado.  The bill also provides greater security for patient records, although it does nothing to change the draconian surveillance regulations being based by the MMED.  On the other hand, it also caps the number of plants that can be grown by a MIPS in its grow to 500, although it is not clear to me that this restriction would apply to deals between MMC’s and MIPS.

The bill is now pending before the Appropriations Committee of the House.  A hearing is scheduled for March 4th at 7:30 a.m.

Another bill making its way through the General Assembly is HB 1250, would eliminate the edibles industry in Colorado.  My sources at the General Assembly tell me that there is not enough political support for this bill, which is a good thing, as I think it is a violation of the no ex post facto law restrictions in the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions.

The bill is now pending before the House Judiciary Committee.  A hearing is scheduled for March 1st after adjournment of the House (approximately 1:30 p.m.).

http://www.denverpost.com/frontpage/ci_14307719?source=rss

It underscrores the need for comprehensive and business-oriented common sense regulation of the MMJ industry by the General Assembly.  Unfortunately, the proposals I have seen to date concentrate on public health non-issues instead of the real nuts and bolts of the MMJ business.  Will a member of the General Assembly please come forward with regulation that helps the industry be recognized as legitimate, please?

One of the things that strikes me about this community is the dedication and seriousness of the entrepreneurs involved.  These folks are business people who see a business opportunity and are willing to do what they need to do to be up and running from a legal perspective.

Unfortunately, several questions at the seminar pointed out the need (and the concomitant void) for a regulatory approach by local and state governments that helps these small businesses deal with the ever changing nature of this industry.   Little things like regulating how excess MMJ can be sold by growers to dispensaries can go a long way toward legtimizing this industry.