Important news for some businesses
.
Just One Thing: Weaker marijuana and less alcohol
(I didn't get to this topic yesterday because Dragon called me out on my drinking problem. Which happens to be Earl Gray tea, but still...)
In recent years there’s been much notice taken of the increasing strength of marijuana including apparent (and not surprising) risks from ingesting the mind-altering THC at much higher concentrations than was available a generation or two ago. According to a 9News article, customers are pushing back against what producers had thought was in demand. And the producers may have been right for a while but one pot shop owner says “people aren’t looking for that completely blitzed-out feeling where they can’t get things done.” The industry hopes less potent offerings will boost flagging sales. (See that’s a flagging sail pun.) I also note that Gen Zers, the youngest cohort that has people old enough to drink, is consuming far less alcohol than prior generations did at the same age. Interesting trends for culture and business.
Markets adapt, and (most) people aren't idiots: Colorado dispensaries sell weaker marijuana to boost sales | 9news.com
I also note that this seems to mirror trends in alcohol: 7 Important Alcohol Industry Trends (2024 & 2025)
.
Today's Guests
Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson are best-selling thriller authors including the Tier One series. Their latest, Defense Protocol, published on Tuesday, is a great new addition to the Tom Clancy-based series that includes President Jack Ryan (whom I still picture as a 50-yr-old Harrison Ford). The plot is basically how President Ryan's daughter, Katie, tries to stop a Chinese scheme to take Taiwan. As with all such thrillers, the plot seems uncomfortably plausible.
.
Lonis Hamaili is VP of Growth at Próspera.
Próspera is a fascinating project: Essentially a free enterprise zone within Honduras, it aims to attract businesses that want to prosper under minimal regulation. I love the concept and so does Lonis who, as a young guy, will explain why he dropped everything else in life to move there and work for the project: Why I Left Silicon Valley for a Honduran Startup City - FEE
.
Other Stuff
Denverites get the gov’t they deserve: Denver flavored tobacco, vape ban moves to full City Council vote
Mayor Hancock was right to veto a measure like this a few years ago. It will have minimal impact on supply but shift the transactions and their associated tax revenue either to nearby counties or (without any tax) to the black market. It's an idea so dumb that only Denverites (and Boulderites and other such people) could like it.
At least Denver will have less money for these (or for anything else): New Denver police robot “dog” will be used in bomb squad, SWAT cases
Denver police unveils new robotic dog - Axios Denver
These voters make bad choices, too, apparently: Sonya Jaquez Lewis barred from having aides after complaints
.
Some of the comments... (4) Aaron Rupar on X: "absolutely depraved to get your dunks in when the guy was just murdered in cold blood" / X
(4) Ken Klippenstein on X: "Today we remember the legacy of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson https://t.co/iyAJwUBe0w" / X
.
Yes, please: Wolf reintroduction in Colorado may face budget cuts | 9news.com
.
He doesn’t go far enough but he’s right: Powell calls for ‘change’ in ‘unsustainable’ fiscal path
.
This is fantastic science: Mammoth Meat Powered Ice Age Humans, Study Finds
.
The (anti-Trump) resistance is exhausted and defeated: MSNBC posts another critical ratings low among critical demo
.
More stuff I didn't get to yesterday:
Retailers hate your returns, and especially the fraudulent ones. There’s a Wall Street Journal story entitled “Shoppers Fight Back as Retailers Crack Down on Returns.” The problem for retailers is not just that returns are very expensive to process, which they are, but also the stunning amount of return fraud, like people taking the Legos out of a $500 set…and when did it become OK for Legos to cost that much…and send the box back full of cereal. One e-commerce analysis says that in 2023, 5% of sales were returned, totaling $743 billion in value, of which about $100 billion was fraudulent. And there are lots of different scams including using fake receipts, returning a cheaper item than what was actually purchased, and more. I don’t blame retailers for making returns more difficult, and I also don’t blame shoppers for objecting.
Rising Online Returns Have Stores Tightening Policies and Raising Fees - WSJ
Return fraud: The $100 billion problem facing retailers - Ekata, a Mastercard company
--
Colorado is very prominent on this list: Top remote work cities: Boulder, Austin and Raleigh rank high
--
A pre-inauguration win for the Trump administration: Appeals court rules US can deport illegal immigrants despite local objections in win for incoming Trump admin
--
2000 Mules was always a lie. The only question is whether D’Souza actually believed/believes it or was just happily cashing checks from gullible people who believed this nonsense. D'Souza Media | Statement on 2000 Mules
WSJ opinion: Dinesh D’Souza Says Sorry for ‘2000 Mules’ - WSJ
--
Pit bulls are legal in Aurora again: Amendment to pit bull ordinance passes in Aurora | FOX31 Denver
--
I don't mind the idea of paying people not to use a scarce resource but when people seem so anxious to participate it makes me think the payment is too high: Colorado River program pays $28.6 million to cut water use
Today's Video
There are a lot of businesses shutting down in Denver. Here's one more: