Another first for Colorado: The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue has issued its first licenses to medical marijuana businesses. 11 businesses received the licenses and 7 have been notified they are next. 467 are in the final application phase.

Colorado is the first state in the nation to license marijuana dispensaries and infused-product businesses.

Medical-marijuana advocates say Colorado's regulations for cannabis businesses are the most comprehensive in the nation, and they credit the rules' thoroughness with shielding the businesses from federal raids.

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Many thanks to the Fourth Wall and the Young Lawyers Division of the Colorado Bar Association, for hosting an "Atticus Finch Afternoon" today.

It began at 3:15 with a discussion on Race, Justice and Representing the Unpopular Client at Denver's Conservatory Theater at The Newman Center. It ended at 9:30, after we all got to attend the performance of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by the Denver Center Theatre Company. [More...]

Another sign of our growing aging population: Denver's Exempla Lutheran Medical Center has converted a pediatric emergency room into an emergency room for seniors, and made a lot of changes to address their specific needs.

A hushed atmosphere, softer lighting, no-slip floors and staffers trained to screen for dementia, drug interactions and other elderly risks are sample features of the Lutheran Senior ER, launched this week. ..."This is where our market is going," said Bev White, a registered nurse who directs Lutheran's emergency trauma services.

This is a great idea. The screening helps those who don't need hospitalization get to the right place, and identifies those who do have major problems and need inpatient care. The noise of a regular ER really is disconcerting for the elderly. Here's the hospital's webpage for the senior ER. Love the graphic.

The Colorado State Patrol announced they will begin removing protesters from Occupy Denver at 11 pm. They want people to go home at night and come back the next day. They said they will issue citations and make arrests if necessary. Paramedics are on the scene in case of injuries.

Here is a live feed of the site. It's now 11:10 pm. The Denver Post has some great photos here.[More...]

Straight from Jenji Kohan, creator of Weeds: Clues on the sniper in the bushes and story line for Season 8 (Looks like plans to retire the series have changed.): [More...]

Affidavits for arrest warrants are not evidence. Their contents may be correct, but they also may contain inaccuracies. Affidavits contain hearsay, speculation and assumptions. They are not subject to the rules of evidence. They are not tested by cross-examination. Their purpose is merely to convince a judge that probable cause exists to arrest someone for a crime.

Criminal trials take place in public. Criminal investigations should not. One sided affidavits have no place in the public domain unless and until they are admitted as evidence at trial.

Unfortunately, the Colorado Supreme Court today, in refusing to review Denver Bronco Perrish Cox's petition to keep the affidavit in support of his arrest warrant on sexual assault charges sealed, has now poisoned his chance at getting a fair and unbiased jury. [More...]

Denver gets 300 days of sunshine a year. When it rains, it doesn't last long. Not this week -- it's like Monsoon Country here. Check out these photos from our local CBS news.

This street pictured above is about a mile from me. My street didn't flood but all the backyard shrubs got felled. Residents are still cleaning up from Thursday. Here's a photo of the building across from the federal courthouse, one a few blocks away by the federal appeals court and a cool photo of the lightening. (All were submitted by viewers to our local CBS news.)

The rain just stopped while I was typing this. The sun is peeking through, and unlike Thursday, the shrubs in my backyard are still standing.

Colorado marijuana activists officially launched a petition drive yesterday to get an initiative on the 2012 ballot to amend the Colorado Constitution to legalize adult possession of marijuana for personal use.

The initiative is called The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 and you can read the text here.

86,000 valid signatures are needed to make the ballot, a relatively small number. In 2006, Colorado voters rejected a similar initiative. Will the growth and acceptance of medical marijuana in the state change the result this time around?

Key provisions in the initiative: [More...]

I think I'll just put up music all day, songs that make us think of where we were, and where we are now, and how much work there is left to do to move this country towards freedom, especially when it comes to privacy rights.

Happy July 4th Everyone, This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

If you're grilling something great, please share!

In the continuing saga of the DEA vs. Aspen, Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo says he did nothing out of the ordinary by stopping by a 65th birthday party for a long-time Aspen resident who had a pending drug charge. The party was at a local hotel. He stayed 15 minutes and didn't even have a drink. In the wake of criticism of his decision to attend the party, and whether it was a mistake, he said yesterday:

“Well, it’s hard for me to say anything else but ‘of course’ now, looking back. But in the day-to-day life of the way I’ve been for the last 30 years in Aspen, it just seems like another thing that I do. It just seems like another type of [a] day in the life of an Aspenite, and maybe even the Pitkin County sheriff. At least for the last 40 years.”

After reiterating that the majority of the Aspen community is opposed to undercover drug operations, and that they pose a safety risk, he addresses the war on drugs: [More...]

The Pitkin County Commissioners in Aspen met a few weeks ago and condemned the DEA's recent bust of a group of retirement-age drug suspects. More here.

Yesterday they wrote the DEA a letter, lambasting the agency for not telling local law enforcement what they were up to. The Commissioners urge the DEA to "“reconsider the directive you've given to your field agents and employees that places innocent people at risk.”

The letter has more details of the meeting between DEA and local law enforcement after the most recent bust.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Colorado is the latest one to advise state prosecutiorial agencies that it will continue to prosecute and impose sanctions against those involved in medical marijuana, despite the Ogden Memo and despite state law to the contrary.

Here are the actual letters, from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to the legislature, from Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh to Suthers, and similar ones from U.S. Attorneys in Northern California, Hawaii, Eastern Washington and Montana. [More...]