WASHINGTON — In a matter of weeks, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to announce that it has all but completed construction of a new hospital in Aurora — a major milestone for a project that drew national outrage in 2015 when the agency admitted it was $1 billion over budget. But according to a congressional document obtained by The Denver Post, the Jan. 23 target will be little more than an illusion as the team building the $1.7 billion facility expects to spend several more m... Read more

The man responsible for enforcing federal cannabis prohibition in Colorado has told the state's legislators that he doesn't expect much to change despite United States Attorney General Jeff Session's recent actions. Robert Troyer, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, told a group of Colorado state representatives that the new Sessions Memorandum would not change the way federal prosecutors in Colorado approach cannabis prosecutions in Colorado, according to a spokeswoman for Congressw... Read more

DENVER – Six of Colorado’s seven members of Congress signed on Friday to a bipartisan letter sent to House leadership and the appropriations committee requesting that any new appropriations or funding bills not include language that would allow federal law enforcement relating to marijuana in most U.S. states. The letter was signed by a bipartisan panel of nearly 70 members of Congress—many from states where marijuana is legal. It was sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi... Read more

After news broke January 4 that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions planned to rescind the Cole Memorandum and nine years' worth of other federal cannabis protections, most of Colorado's legislators publicly came out against the decision that same day. Now they're starting to turn those words into actions — or more words, at least. A bipartisan group of Colorado state representatives sent Sessions a letter on Tuesday, January 9, asking him to reverse his revocation of the Cole memo, a 2013 polic... Read more

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - When the U.S. Justice Department said last week it was reversing policy on the $7 billion marijuana business, it failed to first notify federal officials who advise banks in states where the drug is legal, sources in Congress said. The announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime critic of legalizing marijuana, caused confusion among banks about how to do business with marijuana growers, processors and distributors without running afoul of federa... Read more

Colorado’s congressional delegation convened an emergency meeting Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to shore up protections for state-legal marijuana operations and, in turn, states’ rights. In the meeting, members advanced plans for federal marijuana protections and honed near- and long-term strategies to counter U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ rescission of the 2013 Cole Memo. “(Sessions’ action) really takes direct aim at states like Colorado that have taken state action and are working respo... Read more

As Republican Senator Cory Gardner holds up Department of Justice nominations in the wake of a federal policy shift on marijuana, other members of Congress from Colorado are taking a stand of their own. Four Representatives - Democrats Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, and Republican Mike Coffman - sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session about his decision to rescind the Cole memo, which essentially allowed pot businesses to operate without prosecution. The letter says, i... Read more

DENVER – A bipartisan group of members of Congress from Colorado sent a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanding the Justice Department reinstate the Cole Memo and allow Colorado to continue to operate its legal marijuana program without interference. The letter was signed by Reps. Jared Polis (D), Mike Coffman (R), Diana DeGette (D) and Ed Perlmutter (D). “We strongly urge the Department to reinstate the Cole Memo in order to ensure the Department is acting to uphold the will ... Read more

Colorado congressional legislators fired off a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking that he reconsider last week’s rescission of the Cole Memo and related marijuana guidance. Democratic representatives Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, and Republican Rep. Mike Coffman signed the letter to Sessions. In it, they “strongly urge” the Department of Justice to reinstate the Cole Memo in order to ensure the Justice Department “is acting to uphold the will of Colorad... Read more

WASHINGTON - Members of Colorado's congressional delegation plan to meet this week to discuss the possibility of legislation to protect the state's marijuana laws and businesses. A spokesperson for Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, acknowledged the planned meeting to Colorado Politics but provided no additional details. "Rep. DeGette has been involved in bipartisan talks during the last several days with other members of the Colorado delegation," said spokesperson Lynne Weil. "She believes legislati... Read more