Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2014
Source: Glenwood Springs Post Independent (CO)
Copyright: 2014 Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/ys97xJAX
Website: http://www.postindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/821
Author: John Stroud

GLENWOOD SPRINGS HERALDS IN ERA OF LEGALIZED POT

Clayton Maxfield said he just happened to stop for gas while driving
through Glenwood Springs Thursday morning when he scored a bonus
purchase next door.

"I asked if there was any place in town to buy some [recreational
marijuana], and they said this place was just opening today,"
Maxfield, a Colorado Springs resident who was just passing through the
area, said as he made the very first recreational purchase at the
Greenwerkz shop in south Glenwood.

"I've just been out road tripping and visiting some of the mountain
scenery," he said. "I guess it was just meant to be.

"From my experience here, this store is a lot more personable than
some of the ones I've been to in Denver," Maxfield said.

Unlike the first marijuana shop in the Roaring Fork Valley to open for
recreational sales back in January, the Doctor's Garden in Carbondale,
there were no lines outside the door before the 10 a.m. opening at
Greenwerkz.

But the early business was steady, as customers from the lower end of
the valley and points west and east along the Interstate 70 corridor
were able to avoid the drive up Highway 82 to the other area shops
that offer recreational marijuana sales.

Greenwerkz, located at 2922 S. Glen Ave. (Highway 82), is the first
shop in Glenwood Springs to be allowed to sell to both registered
medical marijuana patients and recreational customers age 21 and over.

Under Colorado's Amendment 64, which legalized adult possession of
marijuana for recreational use and paved the way for regulated retail
sales, existing medical marijuana dispensaries were allowed to be the
first to offer recreational sales until later this year.

Possession of limited amounts of marijuana for medical purposes has
been legal in Colorado since 2000.

Greenwerkz has medical and recreational locations in Denver and
Edgewater, and earned approval from Glenwood Springs city officials
late last month for recreational sales here. The operation's
cultivation facilities are located in the Denver area.

What would be Glenwood's second recreational sales location, Green
Essentials on Devereux Road, is awaiting approval of its city license,
possibly by today, which would be 30 days from its formal license hearing.

Calina Vigil of Parachute said she was having as much fun just
checking out what all Greenwerkz had to offer in its display cases as
shopping for some weed or one of the many edibles, tinctures, balms
and accessories the store has to offer.

"We tried to check out the Carbondale shop when it opened, but it was
too busy, and we didn't end up buying anything," Vigil said. "This one
is easier to get to."

Greenwerkz carries several varieties of Indica, Sativa and hybrid
marijuana strains with names like Cheesequake, Blue Dream, Mob Boss,
Lavender Jones and Lemon Skunk.

The store is now separated, with registered medical patients steered
to the back area and recreational customers to a newly refurbished
second display and sales room.

Medical patients could buy product from the retail side, which has a
few more products to offer, but they'd pay more tax. Marijuana for
recreational purchase is taxed by the state at a higher rate, 29
percent not including local sales taxes, than for medical purposes.

Prices listed on the medical side of the store at Greenwerkz are
post-tax, while the prices in the retail store are pre-tax.

David Bollish of Gunnison said he checks for fragrance and appearance
mostly in picking out one of the many varieties of buds.

"Whatever I'm feeling at the moment," he offered as he perused the
options at Greenwerkz Thursday.

Bollish also happened to be passing through Glenwood Springs when he
and a friend stopped by Greenwerkz, but he's hoping voters in his own
town of Gunnison will overturn a current ban on recreational sales.
The question is headed for the ballot, he said.

"Colorado is paving the way," Bollish said. "I hope to see more states
following suit. I think it's just a matter of time."
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MAP posted-by: Matt