Hello Green Brick Community!
It has been another interesting week of fearlessly investigating, exposing, challenging, and holding the marijuana industry accountable.
The specific item we are exposing this week has to do with the rulemaking process that is in place for Colorado’s marijuana commercialization expansion. Specifically, we are looking into the diversity (or lack thereof) in the work group participants.
The Marijuana Enforcement Division previously announced the following stakeholder workgroup meetings, established to discuss draft rules for the Division’s 2017 rulemaking session:
Work Group Participants include:
Michael S. Hartman, (State Licensing Authority – Colorado Department of Revenue)
Mark Bolton, (Office of the Governor)
Mitch Yergert, (Colorado Department of Agriculture)
Heather Krug, (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment)
Mike VanDyke, (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment)
Karin McGowan, (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment)
Meghan Brennan, (Attorney)
Amanda Woods, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
Dave Rodman, (Attorney)
Laura Bauer, (Commerce City Clerk)
Jeremy Wysocki, (Attorney)
Laura Davis, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
Lee McRae, (Colorado Springs)
Mickey Kreger, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
Peggy Moore, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
Charlie Alovisetti, (Attorney)
Jeannine Machon, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
Dean Heizer, (Attorney)
Joe Cantalini, (Licensed Marijuana Business Representative)
This rulemaking work group is not so much a check and balance as much as a group of elites that set the rules; that support their own interests. It would be comparable to the inmates of a prison guarding themselves with their own rules to govern their day to day activities. It is just a recipe for criminal tomfoolery. It would be as asinine as the players of a football team being the referees of their own game, plus these players/referees have bets and side bets on the outcome of the game that they have an influence in creating said outcome.
We cannot allow the above to be the status quo. This is not an equal representation of what our communities look like, thus our current work group cannot adequately represent the needs of our communities.
All that to say the rulemaking is essentially a club of leaders that write the rules that positively impact their interests. Sure, there are some platitudinal state employees that have to be on it but the majority of the other members are marijuana business representatives.
Everyone, seriously, we need to come together and make sure the industry does not get everything they want because we are not at the table with them. As it is often said, “If you’re not at the table it’s because you’re on the menu”. We can’t allow our communities to be entrees for big industry to sink their teeth into.
The next meeting for this workgroup is on Monday, October 16, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. As soon as they let us know where the next meeting is we will let you all know.
Be there, speak up, represent your community.
Join us now, we must fight back.
