Author: Chris Osher
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Marijuana cultivator files class-action lawsuit over state ‘distortions’ in excise tax collections
Plaintiff says state owes over $100 million in refunds The regulators of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation recreational marijuana market have allowed so many sham transactions in the industry to proliferate that honest cultivators and manufacturers shoulder an unfair excise tax burden, claims a lawsuit filed on Thursday that seeks class-action status. The lawsuit, filed by a large-scale…
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In private meeting, Colorado marijuana regulators acknowledge extent of illegal hemp sales
One regulator said the extent of the suspicious transactions would ‘explode your minds.’ This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. A top regulator for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division acknowledged in a private meeting with industry representatives that the amount of chemically converted hemp being illegally sold as marijuana is far greater…
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Colorado marijuana regulators pledge crackdown on intoxicating hemp
Citing potential tax avoidance, ‘serious risk to public safety,’ Marijuana Enforcement Division warns companies about swapping illegal chemically converted hemp for marijuana This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Colorado regulators announced on Monday that they plan to crack down on companies that illegally substitute cheaper and…
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Colorado marijuana regulators consider major changes to how labs test for contaminants
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week. Colorado marijuana manufacturers would no longer be allowed to choose which product samples they send for mandatory lab testing under a new regulatory proposal discussed at a…
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Smoke and mirrors: How intoxicating hemp seeped into the first recreational marijuana market in the country
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week. The owner of a marijuana testing lab called a top regulator in Colorado on his cellphone in April 2024 with an urgent situation. “We’ve got something that’s…
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We tested vapes in Colorado for signs of hemp. This is what we found.
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Denver Gazette. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week. Leaders in the Colorado marijuana industry have complained in recent years that intoxicating products derived from hemp are endangering consumers and creating unfair competition, threatening to upend…
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Contaminated marijuana prompts Colorado to consider new off-the-shelf testing program
Ongoing debate over whether new program would result in actual sanctions for findings of contamination
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Judge denies push to overhaul Colorado marijuana testing rules
A Denver district court judge ruled against a cannabis cultivator’s request to force Colorado to immediately overhaul the state’s cannabis testing rules and seemed ready to rule for a complete dismissal of the case, after a full day in court Wednesday arguing over whether the state is living up to its obligation to protect marijuana…
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Former Colorado parental evaluator pleads guilty to felonies in custody case fraud case
A former Colorado parental evaluator who sent more than 20 child custody cases into chaos amid accusations that she lied about holding a doctorate in psychology pleaded guilty on Friday to two felonies and a misdemeanor. Attorney General Phil Weiser announced in a press release that Shannon McShane, 57, pleaded guilty to one count each…
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Colorado parental evaluator faces scrutiny over handling of high-conflict custody cases
A Moffat County district court judge barred William Montgomery from having any contact with his children or his wife, Stephanie, after the wife sought a protection order, stating in one court filing that William, in his most recent attack, had attempted to head butt her three times, grabbed a handgun from a dresser and threatened…