Colorado lawmakers OK co-op banking option for marijuana sellers

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - The Colorado legislature on Wednesday voted to create the nation's first state-run financial cooperative for marijuana sellers, with the aim of giving newly legalized cannabis retail outlets access to key banking services through the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The approval of the so-called "cannabis credit co-ops" came on the final day of the legislative session, as lawmakers seek to address problems marijuana retailers face in having to operate on a cash-only basis, such as burglary threats.

The proposal's chief sponsor, Representative Jonathan Singer, said the cooperatives are needed because traditional banks and credit unions have been hesitant to serve the burgeoning marijuana industry as long as the drug remains outlawed by the U.S. government.

"This is the final piece to our pot puzzle," said Singer, a Democrat.

The final approval on Wednesday came after both chambers of the General Assembly cleared their own versions of the bill. The bill now heads to Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper for his signature.

Voters in Colorado and Washington state legalized the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis by adults for recreational purposes in 2012. Both states are among 20 that allow the use of cannabis for medical reasons.

The first recreational cannabis shops opened in Colorado in January, and Washington is set to follow suit later this year.

Singer said the cash-only nature of the industry makes pot businesses targets of crime, limits owners' access to credit and capital and hinders the state's ability to track revenues for tax-collection purposes.

Under the bill, the financial cooperatives would operate similarly to credit unions - without a deposit insurance requirement - and would be governed by the state's financial services commissioner.

But to gain access to banking services such as credit card processing and checking accounts, the Federal Reserve would need to approve the plan, which critics say is unlikely in the absence of a deposit insurance mandate.

Republicans who voted against the measure said such complex legislation needed further study and should not have been rushed through the legislature at the end of its session.

The Obama administration in February issued new law-enforcement guidelines aimed at encouraging banks to start doing business with state-licensed marijuana suppliers, even though such enterprises remain illegal under federal law.

The guidance stopped short of promising blanket immunity to banks, and financial industry officials have said they doubted many banks would begin to accept cannabis suppliers as customers without changes in federal law.

Another bill headed to the governor's desk allocates tax revenues derived from retail pot sales to marijuana enforcement, and to fund education programs designed to prevent youths from using the drug.

Also on Wednesday, Colorado legislators approved a requirement that cannabis-infused edibles be readily identifiable as containing THC, the psychoactive property in marijuana.

A bill to limit the amount of concentrates inside cannabis products also won passage this week, an issue that gained attention following two deaths possibly linked to the ingestion of marijuana products.

(Editing by Steve Gorman, Eric Walsh, Eric M. Johnson and Michael Urquhart)

Marijuana AbuseLegislative BranchFederal ReserveColorado

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Colorado Senate OKs co-op banking option for marijuana sellers

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - The Colorado state Senate passed a bill on Wednesday to create the nation's first state-run marijuana financial cooperative, with the ultimate aim of opening newly legalized cannabis retail outlets to key banking services through the Federal Reserve.

The 24-11 vote approving the so-called "cannabis credit co-ops" came days after the state House of Representatives cleared its own version of the bill, which seeks to address problems marijuana retailers face in having to operate on a cash-only basis.

House-Senate negotiators must now reconcile differences between the two versions in hopes of sending a compromise bill back for final floor votes in both chambers before the Democratic-controlled General Assembly session ends at midnight.

If they meet the deadline, the legislation will then head to Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who is expected to sign the bill into law.

The proposal's chief sponsor, Representative Jonathan Singer, said the cooperatives are needed because traditional banks and credit unions have been hesitant to serve the burgeoning marijuana industry as long as the drug remains outlawed by the U.S. government.

"This is the final piece to our pot puzzle," said Singer, a Democrat.

Voters in Colorado and Washington state legalized the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis by adults for recreational purposes in 2012. Both states are among 20 states that allow the use of cannabis for medical reasons.

The first recreational cannabis shops opened in Colorado in January, and Washington is set to follow suit later this year.

Singer said the cash-only nature of the industry makes pot businesses targets of crime, limits owners' access to credit and capital and hinders the state's ability to track revenues for tax-collection purposes.

Under the bill, the financial cooperatives would operate similarly to credit unions - without a deposit insurance requirement - and would be governed by the state's financial services commissioner.

But to gain access to banking services such as credit card processing and checking accounts, the Federal Reserve would need to approve the plan, which critics say is unlikely in the absence of a deposit insurance mandate.

Republicans voted against the measure, saying such complex legislation needed further study and should not have been rushed through the legislature at the end of its session.

The Obama administration in February issued new law-enforcement guidelines aimed at encouraging banks to start doing business with state-licensed marijuana suppliers, even though such enterprises remain illegal under federal law.

The guidance stopped short of promising blanket immunity to banks, and financial industry officials have said they doubted many banks would begin to accept cannabis suppliers as customers without actual changes in federal law.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Eric Walsh)

Legislative BranchPolitics & GovernmentColorado state SenateFederal Reserve

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Bears break into car in Colorado, tear up interior

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man who had some serious vandalism done to his car says he think he knows the culprits — a family of bears that has been roaming his neighborhood.

Bob Monzel of rural Jefferson County says he believes a mother bear and her cubs entered his Honda Element sometime late Monday or early Tuesday and went on a rampage while trying to get out.

KMGH-TV reports (http://tinyurl.com/qzto48n ) the bears clawed the car doors, smashed the plastic dashboard, and left electrical wires dangling from the ceiling. Yellow insulation is all that's left of the seat cushions.

There was no food inside, but Monzel's family did leave a package of gum and mints in the vehicle after washing it over the weekend.

Monzel says he was "floored" by the damage. The car is insured.

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Information from: KMGH-TV, http://www.thedenverchannel.com

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Missouri woman's pet monkey stolen in Colorado

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Police in western Colorado say a man stole a Missouri woman's pet monkey that she was trying to sell.

Grand Junction police say the man pepper-sprayed the woman and fled with the carrier holding the monkey on Monday. The Daily Sentinel reports (http://goo.gl/NnmkVL ) that the woman traveled to Grand Junction to meet with the potential buyer in the parking lot of a local hotel.

The monkey, a black cap Capuchin, is illegal to have in Colorado. Police and wildlife officials say they don't anticipate charges against the woman.

Police are looking for a man they say is 5 feet 5 inches tall and between 35 to 40 years old. They say he was wearing glasses and has a thin build and a short beard.

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Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com

Crime & JusticeSociety & Culture

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Colorado cantaloupe farmers arrested in listeria outbreak that killed 33

In this Sept. 28, 2011, file photo, co-owner Eric Jensen examines cantaloupe on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo. Jensen and Ryan Jensen, 33, were taken into custody on federal charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

The owners of a Colorado cantaloupe farm were arrested Thursday on charges stemming from a 2011 listeria epidemic that killed 33 people in one of the nation's deadliest outbreaks of foodborne illness.

Federal prosecutors said brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.

The Jensens' attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Prosecutors said the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control determined that the Jensen's didn't adequately clean the cantaloupe.

The FDA has said the melons likely were contaminated in Jensen Farms' packing house. It concluded that dirty water on a floor, and old, hard-to-clean equipment probably were to blame.

The outbreak was the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in 25 years. The CDC said people living in 28 states consumed contaminated cantaloupe.

A number of lawsuits were filed by people who were sickened or who had a family member die after the outbreak.

Eric Jensen, 37, and Ryan Jensen, 33, operated their farm in southeastern Colorado. The farm filed for bankruptcy after the outbreak.

The FDA said Jensen Farms had bought the used processing equipment just before the outbreak, and it was corroded, dirty and hard to clean. The packing facility floors also constructed were so they were hard to clean, so pools of water potentially harboring the bacteria formed close to the packing equipment, according to the FDA.

The dirty equipment previously was used to wash and dry potatoes, the agency said, and the listeria could have been introduced as a result of its past use.

The FDA said the way the cantaloupes were cooled after being picked may have exacerbated the listeria growth, and that another possible source of contamination was a truck that frequently hauled cantaloupe to a cattle operation and was parked near the packing house.

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Man lost toes after being treated by Colorado veterinarian

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A man had to have three toes amputated after being treated by a 78-year-old Colorado veterinarian with no license to practice medicine on humans, police said on Thursday.

The veterinarian, Francis Freemyer, who operates a small animal practice in Greeley, Colorado, was ticketed for "unauthorized practices," a misdemeanor, Greeley police said in a statement.

Police said they were investigating whether Freemyer may have treated other people illegally.

The investigation began when medical staff at the North Colorado Medical Center contacted police in June to report that an unidentified patient claimed to have been treated by the veterinarian.

"Ultimately, the patient required surgery to remove three toes due to a lack of proper medical care," the statement said.

Freemyer could not be reached for comment by Reuters, but told Denver television station KUSA that he had treated a woman's dog with a topical skin cancer ointment.

The woman later applied the leftover salve to a male neighbor who was complaining of a foot infection, according to the interview.

The man then came to Freemyer's animal clinic for a follow-up visit.

"He came and talked to me, I said, 'hell, I don't treat people, but you've already put it on there,'" Freemyer said, adding that all he did was put a wrap on the man's wound.

Greely Police Sergeant Susan West said Freemyer took payment from the man. "There was an exchange of money in his office for his services," she said.

A review of state board of veterinary medicine disciplinary records showed that a Francis Freemyer, who has practiced veterinary medicine in Colorado since 1959, has twice been admonished by regulators.

In one instance, he was fined $1,500 for signing off on an inspection report that said he had examined and vaccinated 13 greyhounds when he had only examined 12 of the animals.

In another disciplinary action, Freemyer was fined $250 for failing to keep records of the examination and treatment of a cat in violation of "generally accepted standards of veterinary practice."

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Dan Whitcomb and David Brunnstrom)

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Hungry bear gets take out at Colorado restaurant

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A hungry bear helped himself to a takeout dinner at a German restaurant in Colorado Springs.

The manager of Edelweiss told The Denver Post (http://bit.ly/18PGB8E) the bear passed by a recycling bin early Wednesday and followed his nose to a dumpster holding leftovers from the previous night.

Surveillance video shows the bear on his hind legs, flipping open dumpster's lid and nimbly rolling it out of a view into the parking lot to enjoy his feast.

The container was later found knocked over. The bear returned for more early Thursday.

Wildlife officials say if the bear keeps coming back, it will be tagged and relocated to the mountains — or euthanized if that doesn't work.

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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

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