The three sons of a woman shot to death in 2014 have filed what appears to be the country's first wrongful-death lawsuit against the recreational marijuana industry. The lawsuit claims that the company that made the marijuana edible and the store that sold the candy to Richard Kirk recklessly and purposefully failed to warn him about the bite-sized candy's potency and possible side effects - including hallucinations and other psychotic behaviors. Hours after Kirk purchased the marijuana candy April 14, 2014, Kristine Kirk, 44, called 911 terrified of her husband, who was ranting about the end of the world and jumping in and out of windows. All three of the couple's young sons heard the gunshot that killed their mother. Their youngest son, who was 7 at the time, watched his mother die, according to an amended complaint filed Monday night. [continues 1068 words]
Court Reports Preview the Defense's Assertion That THC Altered Richard Kirk's Mental State on the Night He's Accused of Murdering His Wife For the first time since marijuana was legalized in Colorado, defense attorneys are poised to argue that cannabis intoxication played a key role in a homicide. A recent set of filings by Richard Kirk's attorneys - and his change of plea to not guilty by reason of insanity - provide a possible preview of the connection attorneys may try to make between Kirk's mental state the night he killed his wife and the nibbles of a marijuana candy he ate hours before he pulled the trigger. [continues 946 words]
For the second time in two years, Colorado's U. S. Rep. Jared Polis has introduced legislation that effectively would legalize and tax marijuana at the federal level. Along with a fellow Democrat, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Polis on Friday introduced two bills, the first of which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and shift regulation from the Drug Enforcement Administration to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF then would regulate marijuana like alcohol. [continues 219 words]
Two Women Wrongfully Arrested in Drug Operation Say Cops Deliberately Used an Unreliable Informant. Trinidad police arrested 40 people in a 2013 "drug sting" after two detectives botched their investigation and intentionally used wrong or misleading information from an unreliable confidential informant, according to a lawsuit the ACLU of Colorado filed Thursday. None of the 40 people arrested were convicted of drug-related offenses, and the informant later was convicted of perjury. Now, two of the people who were falsely arrested- and ultimately fired because of false allegations they were selling drugs - are suing and seeking damages from the city of Trinidad, less than 15 miles from the New Mexico state line, and the detectives who handled the case. The scathing, 41- page complaint, filed in U. S. District Court in Denver, names Detectives Phil Martin and Arsenio Vigil. [continues 748 words]
As one of the people charged with implementing marijuana legalization in Colorado, Ron Kammerzell thought he had considered everything. And then inexperienced users bit off more than they could chew, and reports of people consuming too much edible pot at once started to add up. "That really wasn't on anyone's radar," Kammerzell said. The proliferation of marijuana infused edibles stunned state and industry leaders, making it one of the biggest surprises during the first year of legal recreational marijuana sales. Potent cookies, candies and drinks-once considered a niche market-now account for roughly 45 percent of the legal marijuana marketplace and led to the most high-profile marijuana controversies in 2014. [continues 706 words]
Robert Corry Initially Was Found Guilty of Property Destruction. Marijuana activist and attorney Robert J. Corry was acquitted of destroying private property, after a Denver County judge made a rare ruling to overturn the jury's guilty verdict minutes after it was read. Corry, a prominent marijuana attorney who helped distribute free joints in Civic Center last month, was arrested in June after he allegedly smashed in the window of a recreational vehicle near South Beeler Street and East Jefferson Avenue. The 46-year-oldwas arrested on suspicion of felony menacing and criminal mischief but eventually was charged with lesser counts of destruction of private property and disturbing the peace, according to court records. [continues 352 words]
More Than 20 People Attend THC University's Inaugural Class on How to Grow Healthy - and Now Legal - Plants. A healthy marijuana plant should have lots of shoots, healthy roots and plenty of leaves. But the more than 20 people Saturday who attended THC University's first class, Growing Marijuana 101, learned that growing a healthy and fruitful marijuana plant is far from easy. The sold-out class offered students the basics of growing marijuana at home, including information about watering, proper lighting, different containers and optional accessories. At the end of the five-hour class, students had the option of touring the growing operation at the Denver dispensary Karmaceuticals. [continues 331 words]
Denver Police officers arrested five people in Civic Center this afternoon, after a garbage bag full of marijuana was allegedly dumped out, re-bagged and passed out to park patrons. Around 12:30 p.m., officers were called to the park, near where Occupy Denver typically holds demonstrations and marches, after they received reports of the marijuana, said Sonny Jackson, a spokesman for the Denver Police Department. The bag was dumped on a blue tarp in the northeast corner of the park, police said. About 30 people were in the park when the marijuana a was being distributed. [continues 112 words]
The Colorado Meth Project has launched a digital anti-methamphetamine campaign designed to answer teenagers' questions about the drug as well as raise awareness about its dangers. About 20 teenagers joined Colorado Attorney General John Suthers at Denver's George Washington High School on Tuesday, where he announced the new campaign and website, MethProject.org. The website is part of the Ask MethProject.org campaign, which takes a multimedia approach to provide teenagers with more than 350 facts about meth. The website prompts teenagers with questions, slide shows and personal accounts from recovering addicts. [continues 351 words]
