Q: Colorado’s legalization of marijuana and retail sales outlets have received a great deal of attention, but there has been no mention of where these stores buy their pot. Is it grown and harvested by the state or by independent growers regulated by the state?
—Frank Manfre, Grayson
A: Licensed growers must supply the legalized marijuana that is sold in Colorado. The state requires vertical integration, which means "that dispensaries and their affiliated grow operations must be part of the same company and dispensaries must grow (70 percent) of the product they sell," Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, which is headquartered in Denver, told Q&A on the News in an email. That regulation is scheduled to end in October, which will allow retail businesses to focus on "one part of the business or the other," she wrote, but "all the product will still have to be grown in-state by licensed operations." Colorado uses the Marijuana Inventory Tracking Solution (MITS) that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to "track every plant from seed to sale," West wrote.
Q: What happened to Cheryl White, who used to do traffic and news in the mornings on Channel 5?
—Hazel Ray, Union City
A: White co-hosts the afternoon news show on All News 106.7 with Greg Black. White, who has been full-time with the station since last September, left "Good Day Atlanta" in December 2012 after 15 years at Fox 5. She replaced Melissa Carter at All News 106.7.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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