The General
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Weld County Colorado - Maybe it was the fireplace and the free sandwiches or brownies. Or maybe it was the remixed John Denver and Steve Miller Band jams. Regardless, dozens of marijuana seekers on Monday morning happily waited in lines for more than two hours for a chance to make history. C-Nine Caregivers - opened its doors promptly at 11 a.m. Monday and became the region's first shop to begin selling recreational marijuana.
After last-minute launch-party preparation, the handful of shop employees let customers through the door a few at a time and led them to a table to check their IDs. Patrons were then given a number and hung out in a room crowded with reporters and TV cameras until they were escorted into another room a few yards away, equipped with a glass bar, a cash register and shelves lined with jars of marijuana and other marijuana-infused products. The first person in Weld County to buy recreational marijuana was Rhonda Diciedue, 50, of Evans. She said she suffers from severe asthma and painful muscle spasms in her lungs and has been treating the conditions with medical marijuana from C-Nine Caregivers for more than three years.
Recently, she let her medical marijuana registration – her red card – lapse because she wanted to try the more streamlined and speedy recreational system. Retail customers must only show identification proving they are 21 years of age or older rather than present a red card to dispensary employees and complete additional paperwork. She bought one gram of the Mystique strain of marijuana for $30 – about double the medical marijuana price. "If that's what it takes to make it legal, I think it might be worth it in the long run," she said regarding the higher price, which included taxes. "It's encouraging to see this movement. I'd like to see it just like alcohol (nationally)." The business began posting notices on Facebook during the weekend letting people know it would begin recreational sales Monday.
Among the festivities were multiple giveaways, including a Peyton Manning Super Bowl jersey, wall posters to the first 50 customers and two tickets to Snowdown SIA, a concert series that takes place Jan. 30 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. That helped entertain the dozens of people who waited for their chance to buy legal cannabis. Before the doors opened, Erica Pilch, owner of C-Nine Caregivers, said she had no idea what to expect and said the past several weeks and even months have been chaotic.
People had been showing up to the shop, located at 2506 6th Ave. in Garden City, thinking they could purchase recreational marijuana, she said. The shop got its final license from the city on Friday, and all of its licenses proudly hang above the main desk in the lobby. Throughout the day Monday, phones rang off the hook with people curious about the news headlines they had seen, wondering exactly what the rules were surrounding the new pot law. Some people walking by the dispensary were unaware of the recent decriminalization of marijuana in Colorado, and others didn't know they had to be 21 years old to go into a recreational pot shop.
C-Nine was among the first medical marijuana dispensaries to be granted recreational retail licenses from the state – a step that Pilch previously said was "historic" and part of a churning tide in support of legalizing marijuana. Denver shops during the initial licensing got 102 licenses, one went to a Fort Collins listing, and several were sent to communities in the mountains. Tyler Howard, 27, visiting from Phoenix, Ariz., said he was amazed at how streamlined the system was, even with the wait because of so many people with questions about different strains and products. As a medical marijuana patient in Arizona, he said he's hopeful the system being implemented in Colorado catches on nationally.
Regarding what some people considered price gouging from some retailers in Denver, Pilch said she thinks inventories will steadily increase during 2014, especially as the industry gets a better grasp for what customers truly want. She said people were coming in from all backgrounds to buy recreational marijuana – some apprehensive, others well-versed in marijuana culture. And overall, by midday, she said things were going smoothly, though the shop may explore ways to speed the process up, especially with crowds that could grow as word continues to spread.
"We're all learning as we go," she said. Communities across Weld County, including Greeley, Evans and Windsor, approved ordinances that banned retail sales of recreational pot, large-scale grow operations and even so-called marijuana clubs. That means Garden City is the only place in Weld County where recreational marijuana will be available for purchase. Possession of up to an ounce and the ability to grow up to six plants for personal use in 2013 was legal for Coloradans 21 and older, but Jan. 1 marked the first day in the nation's history when people could legally buy pot from a smattering of retail stores across the state. To date, Nature's Herbs and Wellness Center, also in Garden City, is the only other shop that has been granted a recreational sales licenses. That shop's owner, John Rotherham, said he plans to open his shop to recreational retail sales in March.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Greeleytribune.com
Author: Jason Pohl
Contact: Greeley Colorado ContactUs | GreeleyTribune.com
Website: Marijuana seekers endure 2-hour lines to buy first recreational cannabis in Weld County | GreeleyTribune.com
After last-minute launch-party preparation, the handful of shop employees let customers through the door a few at a time and led them to a table to check their IDs. Patrons were then given a number and hung out in a room crowded with reporters and TV cameras until they were escorted into another room a few yards away, equipped with a glass bar, a cash register and shelves lined with jars of marijuana and other marijuana-infused products. The first person in Weld County to buy recreational marijuana was Rhonda Diciedue, 50, of Evans. She said she suffers from severe asthma and painful muscle spasms in her lungs and has been treating the conditions with medical marijuana from C-Nine Caregivers for more than three years.
Recently, she let her medical marijuana registration – her red card – lapse because she wanted to try the more streamlined and speedy recreational system. Retail customers must only show identification proving they are 21 years of age or older rather than present a red card to dispensary employees and complete additional paperwork. She bought one gram of the Mystique strain of marijuana for $30 – about double the medical marijuana price. "If that's what it takes to make it legal, I think it might be worth it in the long run," she said regarding the higher price, which included taxes. "It's encouraging to see this movement. I'd like to see it just like alcohol (nationally)." The business began posting notices on Facebook during the weekend letting people know it would begin recreational sales Monday.
Among the festivities were multiple giveaways, including a Peyton Manning Super Bowl jersey, wall posters to the first 50 customers and two tickets to Snowdown SIA, a concert series that takes place Jan. 30 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. That helped entertain the dozens of people who waited for their chance to buy legal cannabis. Before the doors opened, Erica Pilch, owner of C-Nine Caregivers, said she had no idea what to expect and said the past several weeks and even months have been chaotic.
People had been showing up to the shop, located at 2506 6th Ave. in Garden City, thinking they could purchase recreational marijuana, she said. The shop got its final license from the city on Friday, and all of its licenses proudly hang above the main desk in the lobby. Throughout the day Monday, phones rang off the hook with people curious about the news headlines they had seen, wondering exactly what the rules were surrounding the new pot law. Some people walking by the dispensary were unaware of the recent decriminalization of marijuana in Colorado, and others didn't know they had to be 21 years old to go into a recreational pot shop.
C-Nine was among the first medical marijuana dispensaries to be granted recreational retail licenses from the state – a step that Pilch previously said was "historic" and part of a churning tide in support of legalizing marijuana. Denver shops during the initial licensing got 102 licenses, one went to a Fort Collins listing, and several were sent to communities in the mountains. Tyler Howard, 27, visiting from Phoenix, Ariz., said he was amazed at how streamlined the system was, even with the wait because of so many people with questions about different strains and products. As a medical marijuana patient in Arizona, he said he's hopeful the system being implemented in Colorado catches on nationally.
Regarding what some people considered price gouging from some retailers in Denver, Pilch said she thinks inventories will steadily increase during 2014, especially as the industry gets a better grasp for what customers truly want. She said people were coming in from all backgrounds to buy recreational marijuana – some apprehensive, others well-versed in marijuana culture. And overall, by midday, she said things were going smoothly, though the shop may explore ways to speed the process up, especially with crowds that could grow as word continues to spread.
"We're all learning as we go," she said. Communities across Weld County, including Greeley, Evans and Windsor, approved ordinances that banned retail sales of recreational pot, large-scale grow operations and even so-called marijuana clubs. That means Garden City is the only place in Weld County where recreational marijuana will be available for purchase. Possession of up to an ounce and the ability to grow up to six plants for personal use in 2013 was legal for Coloradans 21 and older, but Jan. 1 marked the first day in the nation's history when people could legally buy pot from a smattering of retail stores across the state. To date, Nature's Herbs and Wellness Center, also in Garden City, is the only other shop that has been granted a recreational sales licenses. That shop's owner, John Rotherham, said he plans to open his shop to recreational retail sales in March.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Greeleytribune.com
Author: Jason Pohl
Contact: Greeley Colorado ContactUs | GreeleyTribune.com
Website: Marijuana seekers endure 2-hour lines to buy first recreational cannabis in Weld County | GreeleyTribune.com
