Colorado awards first cannabis transporter licenses

(Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version.)

Colorado regulators granted Green Parcel Service and Colorado Logistics marijuana transporter licenses under a new state law.

The law, which took effect July 1, created a new class of licenses that allow independent companies to provide logistics, distribution and storage services to licensed retail and medical marijuana businesses in Colorado.

Green Parcel Service and Colorado Logistics, based in the Denver metro area, are the first companies in the state to secure the permits. Green Parcel Service received both recreational and medical marijuana transporter licenses and Colorado Logistics a rec cannabis transporter permit.

Among other things, the new license allows independent couriers to store MJ temporarily on behalf of licensed businesses if need be – for example, when a snowstorm unexpectedly shuts a highway. Previously, couriers had to return the marijuana to the location from where it was transported if they couldn’t make the delivery within a certain time period.

“Allowing independent transporters to store marijuana and marijuana products will create significant efficiencies in the system and can remove the burden of logistics and distribution from cultivators and manufacturers,” Green Parcel Service said in a news release.