Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jan 2014 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Contact: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 Author: Jack Healy, The New York Times COLORADO POT SALES DRAW A CROWD ON DAY 1 Buying for Recreational Use Becomes Legal Many Come From Other States DENVER - They lined up before dawn and in the snow Wednesday, baby boomers from Nebraska, retirees from Denver and a young man who had driven all day from Ohio. Some were longtime marijuana users. Some had been arrested for marijuana possession. They were among the hundreds of tourists and residents across Colorado who took part in the country's first-ever sales of state-regulated recreational marijuana. They walked into 40 shops, from downtown Denver to snowy ski resorts, flashed their identifications and, in a single transaction, took part in what supporters hailed as a historic departure from drug laws focused on punishment and prohibition. "It makes you giddy to say it: I went into a store and bought pot," Linda Walmsley said as she walked out of the Denver Kush Club, where a line of shivering customers stretched down the block. While about 20 states allow medical marijuana, voters in Colorado and Washington state decided last year to go one step further, becoming the first in the nation to legalize small amounts of the plant for recreational use and regulate it like alcohol. Colorado began promptly on New Year's Day. To supporters, it was a watershed moment in the country's tangled relationship with the drug. They said it was akin to the end of Prohibition. To skeptics, it represented a grand folly that they predicted would tarnish the image of a state whose official song is John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" and lead to higher teenage drug use and more impaired driving. The governor and the Denver mayor both opposed legalization and stayed away from the celebrations and inaugural sales Wednesday. Regulators said Colorado's first sales - on a day called Green Wednesday by enthusiasts - had gone smoothly. Security guards were stationed outside dispensaries, and police officers and state officials watched closely. Skeptical federal authorities are also paying attention. Although marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the Justice Department has given tentative approval for Colorado and Washington to move ahead with regulating marijuana. But it warned that federal officials could intervene if the state regulations failed to keep the drug away from children, drug cartels or federal property, and out of other states. On Wednesday, Colorado had eight investigators out checking retailers' licenses, inspecting packaging and labeling, and ensuring that stores reviewed customers' identification to see if they were 21 or older, said Ron Kammerzell, the director of enforcement for Colorado's Department of Revenue. "So far, so good," he said. Both Colorado and Washington have been racing to devise rules on how to grow it, sell it, tax it and track it. In both Colorado and Washington, recreational marijuana has been legal for more than a year. Adults can smoke it in their living rooms and eat marijuana-laced cookies without fear of arrest. In Colorado, they are even allowed to grow up to six plants at home. But until Wednesday, marijuana dispensaries could sell only to customers with a doctor's recommendation and a state-issued medical marijuana card. Many people who lined up Wednesday said they did not have medical cards, and had relied on drug dealers or friends with medical marijuana to satisfy their cravings. They were paying high prices for new recreational marijuana - $50 to $60 for an eighth of an ounce, nearly double the price of medical marijuana - but said it was worthwhile to avoid the risk. "People don't like breaking the law," said Andy Williams, who runs the Medicine Man dispensary in an industrial park in Denver. "The burden has been taken off them." Now, any Colorado resident who is at least 21 can buy up to an ounce of marijuana at one of the dispensaries that began selling to retail customers on Wednesday. Out-of-state visitors can buy a quarter-ounce, but they have to consume it here. Carrying marijuana across state lines remains illegal, and the plant is not allowed at Denver International Airport. Addison Morris, owner of Rocky Mountain Mile High Tours, said he had 10 clients who paid $295 for four hours of chauffeuring by a "marijuana concierge" who would help them choose strains and edible pot products. "We're your grandmother's pot connection," the 63-year-old said. Morris said she's booked through the end of February with out-of-state clients. Guests receive samples in designer bags before getting tours. Morris said she's selling discretion. Guests are asked to leave cameras at home. Some medical marijuana patients groups say they're worried about supply. That's because the retail inventory for recreational use is coming entirely from the pre-existing medical inventory. Many in the industry warned patients to stock up before recreational sales began. Laura Kriho of the Cannabis Therapy Institute said she worries prices will spike and patients will be left paying more if they're not able to grow their own. "We hope that the focus on recreational doesn't take the focus away from patients who really need this medicine," she said. Their fears weren't misplaced. Some recreational shops closed early Wednesday because of dwindling supply, and customers grumbled about prices going up. For now, medical patients should have plenty of places to shop. Most of Colorado's 500 or so medical marijuana shops haven't applied to sell recreational pot. Recreational sales weren't legal until Wednesday, but pot has been legal and free to share in Colorado for more than a year. So marijuana aficionados gathered statewide to mark New Year's Eve with a group toke to count down to when sales began at 8 a.m. At one party, a 1920s-themed "Prohibition Is Over" gala in Denver, women wore sparkly flapper dresses and men donned suits and suspenders to gather around communal rigs to light up together. On Wednesday, some tourists puzzled over where they would consume their purchases. It is illegal to smoke marijuana in public, in public parks or in campgrounds, and it is against the rules at many hotels. One group from Nebraska said it would find a parking lot and roll up the car windows. Others said they would return to their hotels and open the windows. Some bought marijuana-laced baked goods to avoid the problem altogether. Kirstin Knouse, 24, flew here from Chicago with her husband, Tristan, to take her first marijuana vacation, and she said the couple would smoke their marijuana at the home of a cousin. She said that she suffered from seizures and fibromyalgia, and her husband from posttraumatic stress, but that they had not been able to get medical marijuana at home. When Colorado opened sales to out-of-state residents, she said, they leapt at the chance. "This is our dream," Knouse said. "We're thinking about moving here because of it." Washington's marijuana system is at least several months behind Colorado's, meaning that fully stocked retail shelves probably will not be a reality for consumers until perhaps June. While Colorado has incorporated the existing medical marijuana system, Washington is starting from scratch, with all production and sale of legal recreational marijuana linked to a new system of licenses, which will not be issued until late February or early March. What happens next in both states will be watched by Arizona, Alaska, California, Oregon and other states flirting with the idea of liberalizing their marijuana laws. But on Wednesday, enthusiasts like Darren Austin, 44, and his son, Tyler, 21, just embraced the moment. They had arrived a few months ago from Georgia and North Carolina, respectively, and decided to stay. The father said marijuana eased his anxiety and helped him quit drinking, and the son said he simply liked smoking it with friends. "We wanted to be here," Darren Austin said. "It's historic." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom