Pubdate: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 Author: Mitchell Byars Page: 10A AFTER NEARLY TWO MONTHS, FIRST POT STORES OPEN IN BOULDER Karing Kind, Terrapin Care Celebrate a New Era in the County. Boulder) Nearly two months after they became legal in Colorado, recreational marijuana sales finally arrived in Boulder County as two shops opened their doors Tuesday. Karing Kind became the first shop to sell recreational marijuana to the general public in Boulder County when it opened about 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, and Terrapin Care Station at the corner of Canyon Boulevard and Folsom Street was the first to open in the city of Boulder a few hours later. David Marx, of Longmont, was the first customer in the county after making his purchase at Karing Kind's store a mile north of Boulder. "That was great," he said after making his purchase as the other customers in line applauded. "They've definitely got a large selection of product." Marx was in line by 9 a.m., and even though he has a medical marijuana card, he said he likes Karing Kind's prices and selection, so he wanted to check out the retail scene. He said he was expecting huge lines and long waits but was pleased that the line to get into the store was only about five or six people long at any one time. "For a first day, it's actually pretty small," he said. Karing Kind's opening was delayed slightly after owner Dylan Donaldson got stuck in traffic on his way to pick up his state license at 8 a.m. in Denver. By 10 a.m., a line had started, and Donaldson and his employees were readying the store. Brothers Anthony and Rob Taylor traveled from Philadelphia to check out Colorado but also heard about Karing Kind's opening and wanted to be among the first in line. "Colorado is nice, but we do like weed- I'm not going to lie," Anthony Taylor said. Rob Taylor pointed to the bag of product he was holding - about $250 worth - and said the feeling of buying marijuana was "euphoric." "In Philadelphia, I'd go to jail for this," he said. Added his brother Anthony, "It was just freedom. A load off your shoulders, being able to buy it. We really enjoyed it." Just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, Terrapin Care Station became the first in the city of Boulder to sell recreational marijuana after also receiving its license from the state that morning. "Being first in the city really means a lot to me," said owner Chris Woods. "With the Amendment 64 campaign, we've been working hard on this for 18 months." Jacob Dingle and John Miller were the first in line. Neither lives in Boulder, but they work together parttime in Boulder, so when they heard about the opening they decided to swing by. "I just Googled 'recreational marijuana,' and I saw this place was planning on opening up," Dingle said Woods said in the days leading up to the opening he wasn't entirely sure when he was going to receive his license. He said he could have rushed things to see if he could beat out Karing Kind, but he elected to take the time to make sure he had everything ready. "I knew I was going to be the first in the city for a while anyway," he said. "We wanted to make sure we did this correctly." While some residents may have been upset with the weeks-long wait after shops in other parts of Colorado opened up in January, Woods said the extra time did give him an opportunity to learn from those first businesses. "We've been learning, and I think we really benefited from that," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt