Group gave hundreds of veterans free pot
DENVER – Hundreds of military veterans received free marijuana during a special giveaway in Denver designed to show that pot can help ease their pain.
Members of Operation Grow4Vets said the Saturday event aimed to offer veterans an alternative to prescription drugs to help with anxiety, pain and other problems. The organization also says it gave out 400 bags of marijuana-infused products at the Denver Cannabis Giveaway.
“We’re really here to help them with their medical conditions,” including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, the group’s founder, Roger Martin, himself a veteran, told KDVR-TV. “There’s a wide variety of ailments. Anything that involves pain.”
But pot critics questioned whether the event was safe. Colorado this year rejected marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, so the condition is not on the list of ailments for which doctors can recommend medical marijuana. But it is legal in the state to give away pot for free. And Colorado allows any adult over 21 to buy the drug in recreational stores.
Some Colorado wineries seek out-of-state grapes
PALISADE — Some Colorado wineries say consecutive bad winters have forced them to look to other states for grapes.
Vendors at the Colorado Mountain Winefest told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Saturday that they are looking to Washington and California for grapes to make their wine, despite advertising that says the grapes are locally grown.
Parker Carlson, who owns Carlson Vineyards in Palisade, Colorado says 60 percent of his grapes came from out-of-state this year. He says he usually relies exclusively on Colorado grapes.
Judge allows damages in lawsuit against Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts could be required to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to the family of a teen who died in an avalanche while skiing in 2012.
Broomfield County District Court Judge Chris Melonakis this week allowed the parents of 13-year-old Taft Conlin to seek damages if a jury finds in their favor, making them eligible for more than $700,000. Relatives have said they would use the money for youth programs if they win.
The teen died in an avalanche on upper Prima Cornice on the front side of Vail Mountain. His parents, veterinarians Stephen Conlin and Louise Ingalls, sued, saying the company didn’t close the run despite the avalanche danger. They say Vail violated the Colorado Ski Safety Act when it closed the top gate to Prima Cornice but not the lower gate.
Colorado loses 700 jobs, but jobless rate dips
DENVER — State officials say Colorado lost 700 jobs in August but the unemployment rate dropped as the labor force shrank.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said Friday all the losses came in private sector payroll jobs.
The unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent in July to 5.1 percent in August. The labor force declined by 3,700.
Colorado had 33 consecutive months of job gains until August.
Associated Press
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