Colorado Badged Network (CBN) |
| Founded | 2015[1] |
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| Founder | Joe Webb, Phil Maccarone, Hayley Witherell[2] |
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| Type | Networking organization |
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| Focus | Connecting the Colorado cannabis industry[3][4] |
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Area served | Colorado |
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Members | 6100+ |
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| Website | coloradobadgednetwork.com |
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The Colorado Badged Network (CBN) is a Colorado business that focuses on connecting the Colorado cannabis industry.[3][5] At one point, it was the largest Colorado cannabis industry organization, with over 6100 members as of November 2018,[6] and journalist Spencer J. Ward claimed that could have been the largest network of licensed cannabis professionals in the world at its peak.[3]
Purpose
On Colorado Badged Network, members find jobs, employees, legal advice, compliance updates, industry events, and friends.[2][3] It's been called the "water cooler of the industry",[3][2] and the goal is to keep is accessible to everyone with a Colorado Department of Revenue Occupational License,[2] which is known as a "badge" in Colorado.[3]
History
The group was first created as Colorado Badged Jobs in 2015,[6] in order for Webb to find employees to work in his cannabis grow warehouse.[3] He quickly brought in co-founders Maccarone and Witherell to help.[3] The organization grew steadily for its first year, and it became used for more purposes than just job-searching, such as removing cannabis smell for clothing, what are the best trimming shears, how to best budtend, announcing new products, and venting about Metrc.[3]
In early 2017, the three co-founders decided to rename the group to Colorado Badged Network to better reflect its new identity. This has been a volunteer position for them through 2018, without any financial compensation; they're cannabis industry members themselves.[3]
Members
In June 2018, the group had over 5000 members.[3] By November 2018, the Colorado Badged Network grew to more than 6100 members.[6]
CBN is very active, being described as "robust". As of June 2018, there were about 40 posts per day.[3]
Representatives from Mary’s Medicinals, Bronnor Corporation, the Cannabis Connoisseurs’ Coalition Committee have expressed that they find high value in the group.[3]
Criticism
Some badge-holders have refused to join the group due to "privacy concerns", because the co-founders verify unique badge numbers. The State of Colorado keeps a database of every occupational license holder, which is searchable by both name and badge number. Witherell has made a statement about these privacy concerns, clarifying, "We only verify publicly accessible information to grant access to the network."[3]
