Pubdate: Sun, 16 Mar 2014
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2014 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/625HdBMl
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Jayne Clark
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

IN DENVER, TOKE IT EASY ON THIS POT-INFUSED TOUR

'Ganjapreneurs' Make the Most of Colorado's New Marijuana Laws

 From page 11 DENVER At first glance, the people convened in the 
lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel appear to have little in common. 
There's a retiree from Salt Lake City, a former Marine from North 
Carolina and a thirtysomething couple from El Paso, among others.

But the look of collective delight when they reach into their goody 
bags and withdraw the accoutrements for a multi-day cannabis tour - 
glass pipe, vaporizer pen, butane lighter, eye drops, and a couple of 
big fat buds - unites them in purpose, if not demographics.

It was bound to happen. Even before Colorado's law legalizing the 
recreational use of marijuana took effect Jan. 1, ganjapreneurs were 
conjuring ways to cash in on the green rush. No fewer than a dozen 
tour operators are angling for this new breed of Mile High City 
visitor. Options range from a chauffeured VW bus making the rounds of 
marijuana dispensaries, to multidimensional excursions like My 420 
Tours' outings, which include a cooking-with-cannabis class, visits 
to dispensaries and a grow facility, and transport via a 
snack-equipped party bus.

How many of these enterprises ultimately will succeed is uncertain. 
But in the new landscape of legalized marijuana, there's a role for 
navigators. Especially considering that though it's legal to buy the 
stuff in Colorado, public consumption is still forbidden.

"We didn't invent the idea of smoking pot on vacation," says My 420 
Tours co-founder Matt Brown. "People who come here are able to walk 
down the street with a joint in their pocket with no paranoia. We're 
like your Colorado friend who holds your hand and shows you this is real."

The hand-holding doesn't come cheap, however. The tab for these 
two-day cannabis-themed excursions is $1,000 per person, including 
airport transfers.

After instruction in operating loaner Silver Surfer vaporizers (which 
allow participants to toke up in their hotel rooms without violating 
no-smoking policies - "When it tastes like burned popcorn, it's time 
to replace the product," advises My 420 Tours' Dan Meinerz) - they're 
handed a sixpage waiver. Nobody reads it. Everybody signs it.

ALL ABOARD THE CANNA-BUS!

First stop on the itinerary is Stir Cooking School, where you might 
find foodies honing their risottomaking skills. On today's menu: 
cannabis-infused gluten-free trail mix, chocolate truffles and pumpkin muffins.

"They're delicious. And they'll get you so stoned," says instructor 
Blaine Alexandr, owner of Conscious Confections, which wholesales 
cannabis-laced edibles, like fruit roll-ups. "People may have tried 
to bake the standard (pot) brownies at home. But this is showing a 
different level of cooking. The goal is to make Denver the Napa 
Valley of cannabis."

But first, kids, a warning: This is not your father's marijuana.

"We were surprised how potent it is," says Mary Sharpe, 39, of 
Wilmington, N.C., who, with her husband, Robert, arrived the night 
before, consumed half a chocolate confection infused with hash oil 
and got lost in their hotel on the way to their room.

"Decent weed here is like the best anywhere else," says Robert 
Sharpe, 41. "It's the difference between shooting a bullet and 
throwing a bullet."

The former Marine suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome, among 
other service-related ailments. His wife has degenerative disc 
disease. Pot eases the pain and helps them sleep. "It's been a 
lifesaver for us," he says.

They've signed on for the cooking class because they'd rather eat pot 
than smoke it.

"For us, this is above and beyond getting stoned," Robert Sharpe 
says. "We want to learn how to be healthy."

Exiting the class grasping a gallon-size bag of cannabis-infused 
trail mix, he grins and says: "I have enough edibles for the rest of 
my trip! In North Carolina, they'd put me in prison for this."

Before the Sharpes return home, they'll scout for vacation property 
in Colorado.

They're not the only ones so devoted to the power of weed that 
they're willing to uproot their lives. Kim Patterson and Mauricio 
Najera took a My 420 Tour over Valentine's Day weekend and, two weeks 
later, are back for another. They plan to relocate to Denver this month.

TIP YOUR 'BUDTENDER'

On the party bus, the black vinyl seats are comfy. The lighting is 
mellow. Rocky Mountain High is in heavy rotation on the sound system. 
Pot smoke drifts like stratus clouds.

By Day 2, the tour has hit multiple dispensaries, where participants 
consult with "budtenders" on how different levels of cannabinoids 
produce different effects.

"Do you get paranoid easily? Do you want to sleep, or stay awake?" 
They guide customers through bountiful and often bewildering purchase 
options: AK-47 or Girl Scout Cookie? Sour Diesel or Pink Lady? "A" 
Train or Crazy Train?

At one dispensary, a printed menu reads like a Napa Valley wine 
guide. The Blueberry strain has a "fruity aroma and taste of 
blueberry." Blue Cheese "comes on strong and easy."

There are about 650 dispensaries in Colorado, 100 or so of which now 
sell recreational marijuana. (Medical marijuana, legal since 2010, is 
sold at separate dispensary counters to qualified patients.) 
Out-of-staters can buy a quarter-ounce per transaction (vs. one ounce 
for residents). The cost of recreational weed runs about $50 for an 
eighth of an ounce, plus 25% tax.

But many tourists opt for edibles (cannabis-infused gummy bears, 
fruit drinks and more), novelty items they can't get back home, says 
Eisa Khoury, co-owner of the dispensary MMJ America. A single 
10-milligram infused gummy bear ($25 for a 100-milligram bag), for 
instance, will keep you stoned for a good five or six hours, he says.

"Do not eat the whole thing on this tour or you won't remember this 
tour. You'll be drooling on yourself," warns Alex Williams of So Mile 
High, whose clients have joined the My 420 Tour group on Day 2.

The advice may be too late. The sun is low in the sky when the bus 
pulls up to IIluzion Glass Galleries, purveyor of elaborate 
hand-blown pipes and other smoking paraphernalia priced as high as $60,000.

Glassy, heavy-lidded eyes peer out from the recesses of the deep, cushy seats.

"Do we have to get off the bus?" someone asks.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom