Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

CAN WE USE OUR CALIFORNIA MMJ LICENSE IN COLORADO?

Dear Stoner: My husband and I are traveling to Colorado from Illinois 
and are wondering: If we have medical marijuana licenses from 
California, would they work in Colorado?

Shirley, via the potline

Dear Shirley: Unfortunately, no. Your card from California will not 
work in Colorado, as we don't offer reciprocation for our state 
medical marijuana program. That means you'll have to do your shopping 
at one of our recreational marijuana shops and, unfortunately, 
probably pay a lot more for bud than you're used to paying in 
California at a dispensary - in addition to the roughly 20 percent 
tax on top. The good news is that if you're both at least 21, you can 
legally possess up to an ounce of recreational herb at a time in Colorado.

In you're planning future vacations around medical cannabis, your 
California card will work in Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Rhode 
Island and Oregon - though technically, you've got to register with 
the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and see an Oregon doctor before 
it's legal. Also, the rumor is that Nevada will allow for 
reciprocation and out-of-state patients will be able to shop at Las 
Vegas dispensaries when they open later this year. Keep in mind that 
you are subject to the laws of the state you're in, not the state 
where your card was issued.

Dear Stoner: Where can I find info about wages in the business? I 
can't seem to find anything anywhere. Thanks.

Will Work for Weed

Dear WWW: There really aren't any single repositories for medical and 
recreational wages in Colorado, and most of the information on wages 
isn't that easy to find. (We imagine dispensary owners like keeping 
their employees in the dark as to how much other people are making.) 
But on average, you aren't going to be making big bucks. Budtender 
and trimmer wages start at the federal minimum and peak at around $15 
an hour. Getting a job in a greenhouse or as a manager is somewhat 
more lucrative, with wages up to about $25 an hour if you're really 
working with the plants and not just moving buckets of soil around. 
Head-grower positions can earn $50,000 to $70,000, but those are 
pretty hard to come by.

The real money in the marijuana industry is working for the Dark 
Side: The City of Denver is willing to pay a new assistant city 
attorney up to $195,037 per year to focus on marijuana regulation, 
and the state Marijuana Enforcement Division was recently hiring 
investigators at more than $80K annually. Of course, then you'd be 
working for The Man - and nobody would ever trust you again.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom