The General
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No one can dispute that Denver is the king of cannabis in Colorado. With 75 recreational marijuana stores for the city's 650,000 residents, the hub of the metro area is well-defined as the epicenter. But for the 2 million living in the suburbs, there are less than a third as many stores, as those areas continue to wrestle with Amendment 64. In the communities that ring Denver, there are 21 recreational pot shops for the cannabis connoisseur. And depending on where you live, the closest shop can be either three blocks away or three towns off.
Residents of tiny Edgewater have four recreational marijuana stores to choose from, another four in neighboring Wheat Ridge, and one more just up the street in Mountain View. But potential pot patrons in Highlands Ranch are hard pressed to find a convenient place to legally buy a joint or THC-laced gumdrop. Douglas and Arapahoe counties, and every community they encompass, have either banned or placed a moratorium on recreational pot shops. Attorney Jeff Gard, who represents marijuana business owners, said the patchwork of pot-friendly and pot-averse communities that have sprung up in Denver's suburbs resulted directly from language in Colorado's 2012 pot-legalization law.
Amendment 64 allows municipalities to decide whether to allow marijuana businesses. Complications can arise from the hodgepodge in regulations, Gard said. In communities that allow them, he said, the high demand can put a strain on store inventories, while in places where recreational outlets are absent, black-market sales could flourish. "It has left us with a highly inconsistent and ever-changing landscape for this business," he said. "And it has given new life to the illegal market."
"A very pleasant process"
Jeremy Kindle, general manager of New Age Medical in Edgewater, said his shop has undoubtedly been the beneficiary of the exploding demand for legal weed in the state. Since New Age added a recreational component to its longtime medical marijuana business on April 1, sales of recreational pot have at times exceeded the medicinal side tenfold. Kindle credits much of New Age's success to the attitude that officials in Edgewater show toward pot retailers in the city – charging a nominal licensing fee and keeping red tape to a minimum. "It's been a very pleasant process," he said. "Law enforcement has been very cooperative."
Kindle also commends Edgewater for not restricting hours of operation beyond what state law permits, allowing shops in the city of 5,200 residents to stay open until midnight. Denver requires its stores to close at 7 p.m. Edgewater City Manager HJ Stalf said Amendment 64 was approved by 73 percent of the city's voters. City leaders, he said, took that into account when formulating regulations for the nascent industry. "There was an open-mindedness about it," Stalf said. "We had medical marijuana for three or four years, and from a public-safety standpoint, we'd never had any problems and still don't." Edgewater decided it would rather be in a position to monitor pot sales than try to chase down drug deals on the street, he said. "We're not in denial that this product is sold – we'd rather have a businessperson with a storefront than someone in the back alley," Stalf said. "We feel it's better to deal with it in an upfront, businesslike manner than to pretend it doesn't exist."
Eva Woolhiser, co-owner of Northern Lights Cannabis, said her suburban location has advantages over being in Denver, which is just on the other side of Sheridan Boulevard. Woolhiser said her location on the western outskirts of Denver means that many of her customers hail from the western suburbs, such as Lakewood and Golden, where moratoriums on recreational pot shops are in effect, or Morrison, where the businesses are banned. A world map inside Northern Lights decorated with countless push pins left by visiting customers also illustrates that not only is Woolhiser's shop a destination for suburbanites looking to get high, but that a marijuana business in the suburbs can be just as much a destination for the globe-trotting pot user as a store in Denver.
Sales have been good
That has definitely been the case for BotanaCare, which relies on the travelers on Interstate 25 to bring the curious through the doors of the Northglenn pot shop. Cheri Hackett, BotanaCare's co-owner, said she has customers from all over the world but counts on those living in Denver's northern suburbs for repeat business. With only one shop in Northglenn to compete with – recreational marijuana stores are prohibited in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Thornton, Brighton and Commerce City – sales have been good.
Hackett said she can get 250 to 300 recreational pot customers in her store a day compared with 50 medical users, and she brings in extra staff during the evening rush. In the parking lot, a small billboard with the message "Don't Drive Impaired," along with the store's name, looks out on the busy highway. "Traffic jams are wonderful," Hackett said. "I hated traffic until I got here."
BotanaCare is about to undergo an expansion that will double its size. Hackett refers to 36,000-resident Northglenn as "The Little City That Could." "Northglenn took a risk welcoming us in when Thornton and Adams County shut us out because they were afraid," she said. She said the city benefits more just through sales-tax revenues collected from pot shops. People who come to town to get cannabis often stop for lunch or at the grocery store, boosting the economic impact of their visit.
Not that Northglenn has approached recreational pot with a sense of abandon. Just last month, the City Council passed a year-long moratorium on the licensing of any new recreational marijuana shops to give the city time to refine its marijuana code. While Northglenn is proceeding cautiously, City Manager John Pick said its leaders recognize that 64 percent of residents voted in favor of Amendment 64. The city hasn't had any issues with its medical marijuana dispensaries, and the tax revenues from the two recreational shops have "pleasantly surprised" city leaders, he said.
Tax revenues are real
More money in municipal coffers has always been one of the strongest arguments for a thriving recreational marijuana industry. And Stalf said the additional revenues for Edgewater are about to have real, on-the-ground results. The city hopes to use five years' worth of sales-tax collections on marijuana to fund an asphalt-repair effort on the city's streets.
Wheat Ridge City Manager Patrick Goff said initial conversations have cropped up in City Council sessions to earmark a portion of recreational pot taxes for school-related expenses, including school resource officers. But for some communities, financial gain is not the prevailing consideration when it comes to marijuana stores. Golden assembled a special task force to determine the direction to take on recreational pot. Last month, the City Council passed on first reading an ordinance that would prohibit all recreational sales. It is scheduled to cast a final vote on the measure Thursday.
Golden City Manager Mike Bestor said the council ultimately determined that the presence of marijuana stores wouldn't jibe with the city's self-identification as a healthy community. He also said Golden residents can easily buy cannabis from the surrounding cities and towns that do permit a recreational scene. "We all came to the conclusion that this should not be a financial decision," Bestor said. "It's more of a values decision." But Gard, the attorney, said communities that shut out recreational marijuana run the risk of seeing illicit dealer networks grow stronger and more entrenched. "In the suburbs, those illegal distribution lines may be insulated by this not-in-my-backyard attitude," he said. Gard suspects that as more cities and towns see how stable and safe the industry can be once the early bugs are worked out, they will overturn their bans and jump aboard the THC train. "As we move forward, it's still early days," Gard said. "Over time, I think we will see many, many more jurisdictions get in the game."
Recreational pot shops in the suburbs
Adams County: Moratorium through Dec. 31
Arapahoe County: Banned
Arvada: Banned
Aurora: Locations to start opening Oct. 1 (capped at 24 stores)
Boulder: Allowed (seven stores)
Brighton: Banned
Broomfield: Moratorium through Jan. 31 (may get extended to 2017)
Castle Rock: Banned
Centennial: Banned
Commerce City: Moratorium through Sept. 24
Douglas County: Banned
Edgewater: Allowed (four stores)
Englewood: Banned
Erie: Moratorium through Dec. 31
Federal Heights: Banned
Glendale: Allowed (no stores)
Golden: Moratorium through June 30
Greenwood Village: Banned
Jefferson County: Moratorium through Jan. 31
Lafayette: Allowed (one store pending)
Lakewood: Moratorium through Jan. 31
Larkspur: Banned
Littleton: Moratorium through Sept. 30
Lone Tree: Banned
Longmont: Banned
Louisville: Allowed (two stores)
Morrison: Banned
Mountain View: Allowed (one store)
Nederland: Allowed (one store)
Northglenn: Allowed (two stores)
Parker: Banned
Sheridan: Banned (sunsets in July 2016)
Superior: Banned
Thornton: Banned
Westminster: Banned
Wheat Ridge: Allowed (four stores)
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Denverpost.com
Author: John Aguilar
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Website: Pot shops in Denver's suburbs fewer and farther between than in city - The Denver Post
Residents of tiny Edgewater have four recreational marijuana stores to choose from, another four in neighboring Wheat Ridge, and one more just up the street in Mountain View. But potential pot patrons in Highlands Ranch are hard pressed to find a convenient place to legally buy a joint or THC-laced gumdrop. Douglas and Arapahoe counties, and every community they encompass, have either banned or placed a moratorium on recreational pot shops. Attorney Jeff Gard, who represents marijuana business owners, said the patchwork of pot-friendly and pot-averse communities that have sprung up in Denver's suburbs resulted directly from language in Colorado's 2012 pot-legalization law.
Amendment 64 allows municipalities to decide whether to allow marijuana businesses. Complications can arise from the hodgepodge in regulations, Gard said. In communities that allow them, he said, the high demand can put a strain on store inventories, while in places where recreational outlets are absent, black-market sales could flourish. "It has left us with a highly inconsistent and ever-changing landscape for this business," he said. "And it has given new life to the illegal market."
"A very pleasant process"
Jeremy Kindle, general manager of New Age Medical in Edgewater, said his shop has undoubtedly been the beneficiary of the exploding demand for legal weed in the state. Since New Age added a recreational component to its longtime medical marijuana business on April 1, sales of recreational pot have at times exceeded the medicinal side tenfold. Kindle credits much of New Age's success to the attitude that officials in Edgewater show toward pot retailers in the city – charging a nominal licensing fee and keeping red tape to a minimum. "It's been a very pleasant process," he said. "Law enforcement has been very cooperative."
Kindle also commends Edgewater for not restricting hours of operation beyond what state law permits, allowing shops in the city of 5,200 residents to stay open until midnight. Denver requires its stores to close at 7 p.m. Edgewater City Manager HJ Stalf said Amendment 64 was approved by 73 percent of the city's voters. City leaders, he said, took that into account when formulating regulations for the nascent industry. "There was an open-mindedness about it," Stalf said. "We had medical marijuana for three or four years, and from a public-safety standpoint, we'd never had any problems and still don't." Edgewater decided it would rather be in a position to monitor pot sales than try to chase down drug deals on the street, he said. "We're not in denial that this product is sold – we'd rather have a businessperson with a storefront than someone in the back alley," Stalf said. "We feel it's better to deal with it in an upfront, businesslike manner than to pretend it doesn't exist."
Eva Woolhiser, co-owner of Northern Lights Cannabis, said her suburban location has advantages over being in Denver, which is just on the other side of Sheridan Boulevard. Woolhiser said her location on the western outskirts of Denver means that many of her customers hail from the western suburbs, such as Lakewood and Golden, where moratoriums on recreational pot shops are in effect, or Morrison, where the businesses are banned. A world map inside Northern Lights decorated with countless push pins left by visiting customers also illustrates that not only is Woolhiser's shop a destination for suburbanites looking to get high, but that a marijuana business in the suburbs can be just as much a destination for the globe-trotting pot user as a store in Denver.
Sales have been good
That has definitely been the case for BotanaCare, which relies on the travelers on Interstate 25 to bring the curious through the doors of the Northglenn pot shop. Cheri Hackett, BotanaCare's co-owner, said she has customers from all over the world but counts on those living in Denver's northern suburbs for repeat business. With only one shop in Northglenn to compete with – recreational marijuana stores are prohibited in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Thornton, Brighton and Commerce City – sales have been good.
Hackett said she can get 250 to 300 recreational pot customers in her store a day compared with 50 medical users, and she brings in extra staff during the evening rush. In the parking lot, a small billboard with the message "Don't Drive Impaired," along with the store's name, looks out on the busy highway. "Traffic jams are wonderful," Hackett said. "I hated traffic until I got here."
BotanaCare is about to undergo an expansion that will double its size. Hackett refers to 36,000-resident Northglenn as "The Little City That Could." "Northglenn took a risk welcoming us in when Thornton and Adams County shut us out because they were afraid," she said. She said the city benefits more just through sales-tax revenues collected from pot shops. People who come to town to get cannabis often stop for lunch or at the grocery store, boosting the economic impact of their visit.
Not that Northglenn has approached recreational pot with a sense of abandon. Just last month, the City Council passed a year-long moratorium on the licensing of any new recreational marijuana shops to give the city time to refine its marijuana code. While Northglenn is proceeding cautiously, City Manager John Pick said its leaders recognize that 64 percent of residents voted in favor of Amendment 64. The city hasn't had any issues with its medical marijuana dispensaries, and the tax revenues from the two recreational shops have "pleasantly surprised" city leaders, he said.
Tax revenues are real
More money in municipal coffers has always been one of the strongest arguments for a thriving recreational marijuana industry. And Stalf said the additional revenues for Edgewater are about to have real, on-the-ground results. The city hopes to use five years' worth of sales-tax collections on marijuana to fund an asphalt-repair effort on the city's streets.
Wheat Ridge City Manager Patrick Goff said initial conversations have cropped up in City Council sessions to earmark a portion of recreational pot taxes for school-related expenses, including school resource officers. But for some communities, financial gain is not the prevailing consideration when it comes to marijuana stores. Golden assembled a special task force to determine the direction to take on recreational pot. Last month, the City Council passed on first reading an ordinance that would prohibit all recreational sales. It is scheduled to cast a final vote on the measure Thursday.
Golden City Manager Mike Bestor said the council ultimately determined that the presence of marijuana stores wouldn't jibe with the city's self-identification as a healthy community. He also said Golden residents can easily buy cannabis from the surrounding cities and towns that do permit a recreational scene. "We all came to the conclusion that this should not be a financial decision," Bestor said. "It's more of a values decision." But Gard, the attorney, said communities that shut out recreational marijuana run the risk of seeing illicit dealer networks grow stronger and more entrenched. "In the suburbs, those illegal distribution lines may be insulated by this not-in-my-backyard attitude," he said. Gard suspects that as more cities and towns see how stable and safe the industry can be once the early bugs are worked out, they will overturn their bans and jump aboard the THC train. "As we move forward, it's still early days," Gard said. "Over time, I think we will see many, many more jurisdictions get in the game."
Recreational pot shops in the suburbs
Adams County: Moratorium through Dec. 31
Arapahoe County: Banned
Arvada: Banned
Aurora: Locations to start opening Oct. 1 (capped at 24 stores)
Boulder: Allowed (seven stores)
Brighton: Banned
Broomfield: Moratorium through Jan. 31 (may get extended to 2017)
Castle Rock: Banned
Centennial: Banned
Commerce City: Moratorium through Sept. 24
Douglas County: Banned
Edgewater: Allowed (four stores)
Englewood: Banned
Erie: Moratorium through Dec. 31
Federal Heights: Banned
Glendale: Allowed (no stores)
Golden: Moratorium through June 30
Greenwood Village: Banned
Jefferson County: Moratorium through Jan. 31
Lafayette: Allowed (one store pending)
Lakewood: Moratorium through Jan. 31
Larkspur: Banned
Littleton: Moratorium through Sept. 30
Lone Tree: Banned
Longmont: Banned
Louisville: Allowed (two stores)
Morrison: Banned
Mountain View: Allowed (one store)
Nederland: Allowed (one store)
Northglenn: Allowed (two stores)
Parker: Banned
Sheridan: Banned (sunsets in July 2016)
Superior: Banned
Thornton: Banned
Westminster: Banned
Wheat Ridge: Allowed (four stores)
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Denverpost.com
Author: John Aguilar
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Website: Pot shops in Denver's suburbs fewer and farther between than in city - The Denver Post
