Today is Aug. 31, 2023, and here’s what you need to know:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is recommending the Drug Enforcement Administration reschedule cannabis – previously listed as a dangerous drug posing the same risks as LSD, peyote and heroin – to a much lower classification, according to news reports on Tuesday.

The change could mean major financial benefits to the industry.

Industry leaders, however, still believe that declassifying cannabis altogether, as opposed to reclassifying it, is the better option.

The news sent stocks soaring for cannabis companies, such as Canopy Growth, Cronos Groups and Tilray Brands, the world’s largest cannabis company, which also owns Breckenridge Brewery.

Bloomberg News reported earlier Wednesday that a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services wrote DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, “calling for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.”

Aurora’s councilmembers on Monday shot down Mayor Mike Coffman’s economic development plan.

The tense relations between the city council and Coffman have been going on for several months, with councilmembers – who rarely agree with one another – teaming up against several of the mayor’s proposals. 

Monday’s heated debate focused on Coffman’s economic development plan, which he put together after saying at a city council workshop in February that the city needs to take a stronger leadership role in economic development.

“Economic development without a vision is exploitation,” Coffman said in Monday’s meeting. 

The council rejected the mayor’s plan, 9-1, with Councilmember Dustin Zvonek casting the only ‘yes’ vote.

In February, the Colorado Supreme Court held a lengthy public hearing on a proposed rule change that would make it more difficult to remove jurors of color from criminal trials for reasons that, while not explicitly racial, may still correlate with their race.

But nearly seven months later, the Supreme Court has yet to take action on the controversial rule that drew praise from defense attorneys and stiff opposition from prosecutors. The delay is unusual by the court’s standards.

“The decision has taken a long time in my estimation,” said public defender Joyce Akhahenda, who spoke at the hearing on behalf of the Sam Cary Bar Association, a professional group for Black lawyers. “Our hope is that the length of time is indicative of a positive outcome. The proposed rule change is something which is definitely needed.”

Gordon McLaughlin, the elected district attorney for Larimer and Jackson counties who was critical of the proposal in February, added that it is important the justices achieve a “workable result” on any change to jury selection.

A Denver Public Schools investigation into the use of a locked de-scalation room at McAuliffe International Middle School did not find evidence of racial discrimination, according to an internal report obtained by The Denver Gazette.

An attorney for the school’s recently fired principal, Kurt Dennis, provided a copy of the results of an investigation into seclusion rooms.

Dennis was fired in July for other reasons.

Popular among many parents, the principal’s firing has generated public outrage and a petition with more than 6,200 signatures demanding his reinstatement.

Cost reductions from Colorado health insurance programs saved the federal government $245 million in 2023, money which will soon be returned to the state. 

The U.S. health and treasury departments announced Colorado’s $245 million in pass-through funding on Wednesday – the largest amount Colorado has received, said Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway. This is the first time the amount includes funds for the Colorado Option Program, which began being sold this year, on top of the Colorado Reinsurance Program.

This makes Colorado the first state awarded federal pass-through funding for a combined program, according to the Colorado Division of Insurance.