Local
businesses make a killing with a ‘tidal wave’ of drug vacationers to
the Centennial State, where buying pot became legal Jan. 1, though not
smoking it in public or carrying it across the border.
Comments (19) By Justin Rocket Silverman AND Jeanette Settembre / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Sunday, January 5, 2014, 12:38 AM
Updated: Sunday, January 5, 2014, 10:16 PM
They came from far and wide, drawn to Denver by the green glow of legal marijuana sales.
“It’s pretty surreal out here,” said Marisa Impellizzeri, a 27-year-old
master’s student from Kentucky. “I brought my camera to record this
historic moment.”
Impellizzeri’s purchase was not a speedy one, as she and the hundreds of other customers at pot shop Evergreen Apothecary were given numbers and told to return in two hours to make their purchases.
In return for the wait, they were given limited edition certificates to
prove they were among the first Americans to ever buy marijuana legally
and without a prescription.
RELATED: LEGAL RECREATIONAL POT SALES BEGIN IN COLO.
Since Colorado legalized recreational pot on Jan. 1, Evergreen has served ganja lovers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, said co-owner Tim Cullen.
Even the tourist information desk at Denver International Airport had a
list of the nearly 20 places in the city to buy legal grass.
“I’m still amazed the federal government is letting this happen,” said Cullen. “I can’t wait until New York state goes legal. Colorado will be small-time compared to that.”
Two people have been cited for public consumption since Colorado became
the nation’s first state where buying a joint is completely legal.
RELATED: COLORADO VOTES TO APPROVE TAXES ON MARIJUANA SALES
The penalty for toking in public is the criminal equivalent of a parking ticket, with a top fine of $150.
Legal highs — and simple rules — are why Colorado is already becoming the first “pot tourism” mecca in the United States, the Alpine Amsterdam, if you will.
As such, tour companies are stoked to light up the drug vacationers.
“The demand for our service has been nearly overwhelming — there’s a tidal wave,” said Peter Johnson of Colorado Green Tours, whose magic bus ferries visitors on tours of three of the newly legal dispensaries for $399 — weed not included.
RELATED: STORY CLAIMING 37 DIED OF WEED OVERDOSE A HOAX
An eighth of an ounce is running about $65.
Matt Brown owns another “green” tour company, My 420 Tours — which describes itself as “your best friend in Colorado.”
He said 4,000 people have already signed up for his ganja express, which will include visits with the pot growers, chefs who cook with wacky tobaccy and some of the dozens of shops in and around Denver where it’s now legal for anyone 21 or older to have a date with Mary Jane.
“We want to show you that this is real and something you can go home and talk about with people,” said Brown.
RELATED: DOCTOR HARSHES MELLOW WITH SCARY POT STATS
But Brown and others have already run into one major sticking point — where to put all those would-be potheads. The entire city of Denver only has about 600 hotel rooms where smoking is allowed — and it’s unclear whether owners will add more.
“I haven’t really decided,” says Dan King, owner of The Boulder Outlook Hotel.
“It’s possible that we can designate rooms where marijuana is allowed if there’s enough demand.”
Impellizzeri’s purchase was not a speedy one, as she and the hundreds of other customers at pot shop Evergreen Apothecary were given numbers and told to return in two hours to make their purchases.
Brennan Linsley/AP
Cheyenne Fox, an employee and daughter of the owner of a Denver marijuana store, attaches radio frequency tracking tags to pot plants maturing inside a grow house. Local businesses are reaping the harvest as tourists flock to Colorado, where buying pot became legal Jan. 1.
RELATED: LEGAL RECREATIONAL POT SALES BEGIN IN COLO.
Since Colorado legalized recreational pot on Jan. 1, Evergreen has served ganja lovers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, said co-owner Tim Cullen.
Theo Stroomer/Getty Images
Sam Walsh, a budtender, sets up marijuana products as the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary prepares to open for retail sales on Jan. 1 in Denver. Tour companies are offering visits to the pot growers.
“I’m still amazed the federal government is letting this happen,” said Cullen. “I can’t wait until New York state goes legal. Colorado will be small-time compared to that.”
RICK WILKING/REUTERS
People wait in line to be among the first to legally buy recreational marijuana at the Botana Care store in Northglenn, Colo., on New Year's Day.
The penalty for toking in public is the criminal equivalent of a parking ticket, with a top fine of $150.
Legal highs — and simple rules — are why Colorado is already becoming the first “pot tourism” mecca in the United States, the Alpine Amsterdam, if you will.
Charlotte Southern
Marijuana is weighed at Evergreen Apothocary in Denver as recreactional marijuana sales became legal at dispensaries across Colorado on Jan. 1.
“The demand for our service has been nearly overwhelming — there’s a tidal wave,” said Peter Johnson of Colorado Green Tours, whose magic bus ferries visitors on tours of three of the newly legal dispensaries for $399 — weed not included.
RELATED: STORY CLAIMING 37 DIED OF WEED OVERDOSE A HOAX
Charlotte Southern
Marisa Impellizzeri, 27, of Kentucky, outside Evergreen Apothecary in Denver, where she waited to buy recreational marijuana.The graduate student in advertising and brand management was in Denver to visit friends.
Matt Brown owns another “green” tour company, My 420 Tours — which describes itself as “your best friend in Colorado.”
He said 4,000 people have already signed up for his ganja express, which will include visits with the pot growers, chefs who cook with wacky tobaccy and some of the dozens of shops in and around Denver where it’s now legal for anyone 21 or older to have a date with Mary Jane.
Brennan Linsley/AP
Customers stand in line after the opening of 3D Cannabis Center, a legal recreational retail outlet in Denver, on Wednesday morning.
RELATED: DOCTOR HARSHES MELLOW WITH SCARY POT STATS
But Brown and others have already run into one major sticking point — where to put all those would-be potheads. The entire city of Denver only has about 600 hotel rooms where smoking is allowed — and it’s unclear whether owners will add more.
Theo Stroomer/Getty Images
Sean Azzariti, an Iraq war veteran, prepares to make the first legal recreational marijuana purchase in Colorado from advocate Betty Aldworth at the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary on Wednesday in Denver.
“It’s possible that we can designate rooms where marijuana is allowed if there’s enough demand.”
2 comments:
Well, I really never expected to see this. But I'm not judging. My friend told me about this and about a place that does cannabis tours, http://www.highcountrycannabistours.com/check-availabilityreservations.html.
I plan on taking a tour in the new future and i'm really excited. Does anyone have a good place to start?
John Bond | http://www.highcountrycannabistours.com
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