Denver cannabis CEO says Colorado is leading the way for the legal cannabis industry as it enters a

Ryan Fox, founder of Kindman cannabis, believes many states are looking to Colorado’s pioneering regulatory structure as well as its ground-breaking cannabis production technologies as they prepare to vote on cannabis legalization in 2016

DENVER (January 4, 2016) - Will 2016 be the Year of Marijuana, as many are already predicting?

On New Year’s Day High Times Magazine noted there was only one subject was “grabbing more headlines than whatever offensive thing Donald Trump has said this week, and that’s marijuana.”

According to Forbes, voters in anywhere from four to as many as 12 states could end up considering cannabis-related measures on their ballots during the November elections this year; measures that could legalize marijuana in some form.

And given that 23 states and the District of Columbia already have similar laws in effect, a growing number of analysts are predicting 2016 could be the “tipping point” that many cannabis industry observers have anticipated.

“A lot of states, consumers and organizations have been looking very closely at what’s been going on here in Colorado, and are digesting the implications of the success we’ve had,” says Ryan Fox, founder and CEO of Denver-based Kindman, one of the oldest and largest producers of recreational cannabis in the state.

“Starting with medical cannabis and now with the legalization of recreational pot in 2014 Colorado has had six years overall, to try and figure out the best ways to make this industry work,” he notes. “We get emails and calls from all over the country with questions about our operations. People in a wide variety of states want their own version of the social and financial benefits that Colorado has received from the legal marijuana industry here, especially over the past two years.”

The state is also leading the way in the overall technological transformation of the legal cannabis industry; from environmentally-sustainable growing techniques to the innovative ways that cannabis businesses are using existing commercial software to streamline their point-of-sale systems.

“It’s been trial-and-error but we’ve broken a lot of new ground when it comes to legal marijuana production,” says Fox. “It’s satisfying when a group or a person from a state considering cannabis legalization wants to consult with us; it’s a confirmation of the things we’ve gotten right.”

The big issue this year, according to many in the industry, is whether the federal government will reclassify cannabis and remove it from the Schedule One list; where it’s classified as a dangerous drug with no medicinal use.

But if only a small fraction of the political and legal changes that many are anticipating this year actually come to pass, Fox continues, then 2016 could end up being very exciting for his industry.

“Other states want their own version of the financial revenue that Colorado has received from the legal marijuana industry here for the past two years,” he says. “They’ve also noticed the social and medical benefits Colorado has gotten from full cannabis legalization for adults.”

Fox expects about a half-dozen states will end up voting on marijuana legalization later this year, but he also believes “the toothpaste is out of the tube” when it comes to the growing cannabis legalization movement across the U.S. A lot of cannabis advocates, he says, have considered Colorado’s marijuana regulation guidelines as they write their own ballot measures.

At the same time Kindman and other Colorado cannabis producers are putting a lot of effort into making sure that the state remains the gold standard when it comes to how the legal industry can further expand across the country, as it continues its evolution into a mature part of the nation’s retail sector.

“It’s also important to note that about half of all sales made in Colorado’s dispensaries are made by out-of-state customers, coming here to enjoy marijuana in a legal and safe environment,” Fox adds. “You can be sure those tourists are talking-up their positive experiences with legal marijuana once they get back home and are spreading the word.”