COLORADO GETS HIGH
legalisation will become a busted flush.
And many believe the pioneers of a new
dawn are being set up for failure.
“The Feds have always said this industry
is going to cause crime,” says Michael
Elliott, executive director of the Medical
Marijuana Industry Group.
“It’s almost like they’re trying to make
that come true.”
So, while many of the larger cities in
Colorado have welcomed the change in
the law, the smaller tourist destinations
are fearful about what exactly this will
mean for their towns and businesses.
In Crested Butte, a ski town that thrives
on the tourism business, the big debate
has been about where the pot shop should
be sited. Many are concerned by the idea
of a pot shop on the high street where
many shops and restaurants are located.
“It feels like a massive ‘screw you’ to
people who make their money here,”
said Tiffany Deutsch local store owner.
“Open the shop, but don’t do it on the
main road where it can make people feel
uncomfortable.”
While any change in society takes time,
store owners say they want time to adjust,
and not have the marijuana amendment
shoved down their throat.
Possession and sale of cannabis before
Amendment 64 was a serious crime
that attracted severe penalties. As Jake
discovered while a student at Colorado
State University. He was caught selling
a small amount of the drug to a friend in
student accommodation.
It was enough to have him kicked out
of school and ordered by a court to be
drug-tested monthly. His entire life was
derailed, and the court procedure cost
him thousands of dollars. But what was a
misdemeanour is now perfectly legal for
anyone living in the state to do.
Colorado is still trying come to terms
with the change, and people in other states
“
The Feds have always
said this industry is going
to cause crime... It’s almost
like they’re trying to
make that come true.
An unusual sight for some, but shops in Colorado are now well-stocked with Cannabis
24•FANFA R E JUNE 2 0 1 4
”
are just as perplexed and wonder awaits
them on a visit to Colorado. Will it still be
a place they want to bring their families, as
they have often done, or is it all turning to
the “Wild West “of pot?
The war on drugs in the United States
was launched by President Nixon in the
1970s, and saw the bombing of cocaine
farms in Colombia, and lethal patrolling of
the border with Mexico. The war on drugs
has be