Retail marijuana makes history

Barbara Lawlor

Peak to Peak

Havana Boring is anything but boring. She has a way of jumping on board of history-making band wagons. For example: When gaming was on the Central City horizon, as owner of Annie Oakley's she applied for and received the first gaming license in 1992, Colorado # 0001 and she has the license framed to prove it. She paid $1,250 in fees at the time. Boring framed the first legal Blackjack deck used in the state.

When retail marijuana became legal in Colorado in December of 2012, she sold the grocery store part of Annie Oakley's, maintaining ownership of the building, and applied for the license to sell recreational marijuana beginning in January of 2014.

When the doors opened on January 1, 400-500 people lined up to buy the first legal retail marijuana in the state and in the country. The doors opened on a history-making moment, the likes of which has not been seen since the sale of alcohol became legal.

In 2010, the small lobby and sales room opened for the sale of medicinal marijuana under the condition that only the back room was used and used discreetly. The sales were not to take place where kids were exposed to the transactions. For the past four years, Boring has cultivated her own strain of plants in a warehouse in Denver.

"When the sale of recreational marijuana was made legal last year, I wanted to be a part of the historical moment. It was a good business decision."

Boring hires about 50 employees to grow the plants, most of whom learn on the job. She says there will probably be colleges on the cultivation of marijuana sprouting up in the future. She is proud of being one of the entrepreneurs who have created one of the largest, fastest growing industries in the state.

Shelves in the counters are filled with Boring's product, including tins of buds, extracts, processed products, gummies, hard candy, transdermal patches. The room, which is behind glass, is entered only after producing a driver's license. It has a faint odor of marijuana, which inspires shoppers to breathe deeply.

On January 1, Boring said, she was shaking when she made her first legal recreational sale, knowing it was the first legal sale in the country; the first time a grower/seller could hand over pot that wasn't acquired through a medical marijuana card.

The shaking stopped as the money poured in. Hundreds of people came to buy, many of them from out of state. Boring says that many people were curious. What would it feel like to buy a quarter of an ounce of high-end pot without looking over your shoulder to make sure no one saw the transaction?

Many people dropped in to learn about the medicinal benefits, eager to get off their prescription drugs. Out-of-state buyers were thrilled at the reality of the venture. A father accompanied his 21-year-old son into the shop and the two of them conversed about the properties of the different strains as if they were talking about a cut of beef for dinner. There were folks from New Jersey who came here to ski, saw the ad for retail dope and took a day off to purchase recreational weed to enhance their skiing experience. Colorado was their destination because of the legalization of pot. "Hey, we ski as a family and smoke pot as a family."

Boring says the Central City shopkeepers are loving it. When people drop in to get their product, they also stop in the casinos to eat and drop a few coins. Those who have come from afar book rooms, giving the hotel business a boost. The City Treasurer sees the coffers filling up with tax revenue.

After the initial opening crowd dwindled, business has been a steady stream. Boring says there have been some negative attitudes but she expected that would be the case. The biggest issue was the easy access to buy the pot and make it available to underage partakers.

"We are meeting all standards," says Boring. "I have watched the local kids grow up and we have the strictest rules about visibility to them. We are in complete compliance. We are running a solid business."

Boring says some teens tried to purchase some product and the CC police were called immediately. It is the same as if an underage person tried to buy booze. So far, the rollout of the law has gone smoothly.

The Central City business is a part of the Strainwise company who will be opening eight other retail shops in Colorado, including one in Idaho Springs. Employee Justin Eaton says he has worked for the company for about a month and the switch to legal retail marijuana has been amazing. "I'm glad that America in general has gotten on board. We are on the front lines of the battleground."

It is only a couple of weeks until the first MJ retail shop opens in Nederland, probably the first to open in Boulder County. Canary Song employee David Matters says they are set to open as soon the Nederland Board of Trustees gives them the go-ahead, which is supposed to happen at the January 21 board meeting. If all goes well, the first sale will take place on January 22, and from the recent onslaught of phone calls and drop-in inquiries, Matter expects there will be the same initial reception. They are preparing for it.

Matters rolled $5 joints, saying that the price would probably go up, considering the exorbitant tax fees they have to pay. All buyers will have to have government-issued identification. Colorado residents can buy up to one ounce per day; people from out of state are limited to 1/4 ounce.

The Canary Song has been open about seven months and the legalization of the weed will mean an amazing increase in business. "People have been coming in non-stop, asking when they can legally buy marijuana," says Matters. At first, the shop will offer buds, hash oil, honey oil, some tinctures and medicals and ready to go joints. "Once we open, we will see what kind of inventory we will have," says Matter.

After all the years of smoking behind closed doors and pulled down shades; of having to find dealers, of being secretive, of being made to feel guilty about their needs for pain relief, pot smokers can now light up with the same legality as throwing back a shot with a beer.

No one may enjoy marijuana in public, but everything else will be different. Before legal pot and after legal pot. It doesn't matter how one feels about it. It is, and by the look of things, it will be as it is for a long time, just another shop in a small mountain town.

Perhaps, a year from now, the whole subject will even become boring.