Colorado’s Green Cannabis Industry, Texas’ Newest Legalization Bill, & a Deadly Explosion in San Francisco

Colorado’s plan to reduce cannabis’ carbon footprint, a Texas Rep. introduces legalization bill, and a home explosion shakes a quiet San Francisco neighborhood.

Let’s dive into this week’s cannanews.

Colorado Envisions Eco-Friendly Cannabis Industry

Colorado is looking to turn its cannabis industry green with the implementation of a new program. The Cannabis Resource Optimization Program (CROP) seeks to provide eligible cannabis cultivation businesses with no-cost resource technical assistance. The hope is that the assistance will help businesses understand their past resource use — and subsequently — improve their future water and electricity management.

According to a 2018 report from the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), cannabis cultivation uses an estimated 2% of the electricity generated in Colorado. These electricity cost, along with other energy costs like natural gas and propane, account for around 33%  of a cultivation facility’s expenditures. CROP gives business who qualify for the program the unique opportunity to cut down on their carbon footprint while increasing total revenue.

CROP’s application portal opened February 15th. Businesses’ accepted into the program will be connected with a representative who will schedule an on-site audit of their cultivation site. The audit will look at historic electricity, natural gas, propane, CO2 and water usage data to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements.

What do you think about Colorado’s plan to help make its cannabis industry more sustainable? Would you like to see something like the CROP program in your state? Let us know in the comments!

Texas Representative Introduces Ambitious Cannabis Bill

Dallas Representative Jessica González has submitted a bill which could clear the way for cannabis legalization in Texas. González’s House Bill 1937, seeks to allow Texas counties and municipalities to make their own decisions regarding cannabis legalization.

Under the bill, counties/municipalities that legalize cannabis would be subject to two further pieces of regulation. The first, allows for adults 21+ to possess and transport up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. The second, places a 10% tax on cannabis products designated for cannabis regulation, testing, government oversight, and as funding for schools.

So, does the bill actually have a chance of passing? If it was up to the average Texan — absolutely! A recent poll found that 55% of Texans support recreational legalization while 72% support medical cannabis. Unfortunately, the decision is out of these citizens control and local Republican leaders —including Governor Gregg Abbott and Lt. Dan Patrick — have repeatedly said they will not support recreational legalization.

What do you think of Rep. González’s ambitious new bill? Do you think Texas’ leadership will feel the pressure to pass the bill? Let us know in the comments!

Explosion in San Francisco Home Linked to Cannabis Extraction

Residents of San Francisco’s usually quiet Sunset District were shaken by a loud explosion earlier this week. The incident took place at the residence of the 53-year old Darron Price. The explosion took the life of Price’s elderly—disabled wife, and badly burned her caretaker.

Investigators believe Price’s butane hash oil making operation to be behind the explosion. Butane is an odorless, yet incredibly flammable gas used to make the potent cannabis extract.  According to retired FBI agent Jeff Harp, using butane “…in an atmosphere or in an area where you have say a dryer that has an ignition source…” is a recipe for disaster. Luckily for those in the area, the explosion did not cause any further casualties.