Blazing cannabis trail, US states eye tourism surge

[Jesus Malverde]

Marijuana users in Colorado and Washington are counting down the hours before the western US states become the first to legalize recreational pot shops on January 1.

Blazing a trail they hope will be followed in other parts of the United States, cannabis growers and others are also rubbing their hands, while tax collectors are eyeing the revenue the newly-legalized trade will generate.

Enterprising companies are even offering marijuana tours to cash in on tourists expected to be attracted to a Netherlands-style pot culture — including in Colorado's famous ski resorts.

“Just the novelty alone is bringing people from everywhere,” said Adam Raleigh of cannabis supplier Telluride Bud Co.

“I have people driving in from Texas, Arizona, Utah... to be a part of history.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24815204/blazing-cannabis-trail-us-states-eye-tourism-surge

[benld74]

1. Years ago Coors was brought into Missouri because AB had locked

The doors allowing it into the state. I see a whole new era arriving,,,,,

[CrispyQ]

2. Enjoy our beautiful trails while you're here!

Colorado is one of the fittest states, largely due to the beautiful outdoors. Treat yourself to a hike - there are hikes of every fitness level.

http://www.protrails.com/state/colorado

http://www.nps.gov/state/co/index.htm?program=all

[In_The_Wind]

3. I wish I had the time and money to go west.

I would be packing my car right now!

[Feral Child]

4. K&R n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

5. North Carolina needs to get on board with that.

Seriously.

[zabet]

7. I agree whole-heartedly.

[NightWatcher]

6. Once the tax revenue starts a'flowin, I predict more states will get on board

The bribes from Big Beer and Big Pharma will have to catch up or they'll be left in the dust

[RainDog]

11. A former police officer said the coming legalization saved Denver from the recession

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/colorado-tax-enforcer-tells-60-minutes-weed-beat-recession-denver

A former cop narcotics officer said the medical marijuana economy saved the city from recession.

October 22, 2012

That runs contrary to President Barack Obama’s logic: he said in 2010 that legalizing marijuana is not “a good strategy to grow our economy.”

But the economic impact on Denver? According to Matt Cook, a former narcotics officer who oversees enforcement at the Colorado Department of Revenue, “it’s huge.”

“Look at all the electrical contractors, HVAC contractors,” he said. “The number of ancillary businesses — it’s huge. Tax revenues exceeded, I believe the last number I heard was an excess of $20 million.”

Cook helped write the state’s medical marijuana law, and works as a consultant for medical marijuana businesses in the state. Speaking to “60 Minutes,” he said that the industry accounts for “over a million square feet of lease space in the Denver area.”

[RobertEarl]

8. Colorado is going to boom

Freedom is a great attractor.

[Shampoobra]

9. The media keeps (incorrectly) lumping the state of Washington in with this news

Last edited Wed Jan 1, 2014, 12:32 AM - Edit history (1)

Marijuana users in Colorado and Washington are counting down the hours before the western US states become the first to legalize recreational pot shops on January 1.

Nothing is changing (on the marijuana front) on January 1 for Washington State residents.

Recreational marijuana was signed into law in Washington State over a year ago, on December 6, 2012. And other than by medical dispensaries (and only to registered cannabis patients), no one can legally sell marijuana in Washington State. They couldn't sell it on December 6, 2012, and they still won't be able to on January 1.

(The state originally predicted the stores would be open by March 1, 2014, and then by May, but they've been eerily silent about the subject lately. Bottom line: It's legal, but no one can grow it or sell it except for medicinal purposes.)

It's becoming a source of shame for those of us who so eagerly backed and promoted Initiative 502. It's legal to possess, legal to use, even legal to buy it here (because Washington never passed an original law forbidding the purchase of marijuana - just its cultivation, sale, and possession). But it's still illegal to sell it here, which turns the legality of its purchase, possession, and use into a practically irrelevant bit of trivia.

Winterlife is the only "legal" way to buy recreational weed here (they do home deliveries, charging for the delivery instead of charging for the product) and what they're doing is still technically illegal. I spoke with (and bought from) a Winterlife representative who said his company is just itching for a legal challenge from the state of Washington, but the authorities have refused to take the bait.

[nilesobek]

14. You have beautifully articulated my sentiments

regarding the new Washington St. law. This "legalization" law is full of doubletalk and catch 22's. I live in a border city in Idaho and across the river in Wa. There is much resentment to the new law. Some people have told me that the law was deliberately written in a fouled up way so it could never be implemented nor enforced.

Now some Eastern Wa. counties have started homemade amendments to the State law pretty much abolishing the State rulings altogether. So, being in Idaho, and a part-time user for medicine, I just would rather have the Idaho law which makes everything illegal. Its more enjoyable to me and less hassle that way.

[B Calm]

10. Will it still be legal for employers to drug test for marijuana

in Colorado and Washington now that it's a legal substance?

[RainDog]

12. Yes. Drug testing is still legal

I think businesses that want to drug test are going to have to switch to saliva testing because otherwise they're only testing for the presence of metabolites, not actual impairment.

[Shampoobra]

13. Changes are happening slowly, on a case-by-case basis, in Washington

For example, a friend who works for a local police department in Pierce County (a highly populated region just south of Seattle) showed me an unpublished, inner-office memo that told employees they were changing to a "don't ask, don't tell" stance regarding marijuana use by employees, and that their drug tests would no longer check for THC (marijuana's active ingredient, for those readers who may be unfamiliar).

I've heard two other accounts of employers essentially saying, 'We're not sure how to proceed, but for now, we'll stop testing for it as long as we aren't given a good reason to regret that decision.'

[RainDog]

15. that's good to hear

If they just stopped testing for metabolites, that would be the best.