Telluride is the latest Colorado ski resort to officially approve the growing and sale of cannabis for “recreational use.”
The ease of acquiring marijuana, the legal sale of which was passed by a wide margin in the state’s Amendment 64, will vary from resort to resort this winter as different town councils take different approaches (the law allows ease to make a local decision on how to approach the issue).
In Telluride it seems the drug will be relatively easy to acquire but in parts of Summit County (including some of the world’s highest resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Keystone) the local authorities have sought to limit the number of retailers licensed to sell the drug to just a few, or banned sales completely.
Aspen plans to allow four ‘medical dispensaries’ of marijuana to become retail sellers on January 1st, 2014 and has several more planning applications in. Crested Butte and Silverton are also reported to be planning to allow retail sales.
Breckenridge, the most popular US destination for British skiers, has come down against liberalisation however and has banned any retailers selling the drug. The one shop there that already dispenses cannabis the ‘Breckenridge Cannabis Club’ will not have its lease renewed.
Vail and Steamboat have also banned recreational sales but the latter says they may review the policy in the future depending on how the state-wide position develops.
According to amendment 64, passed in November last year, adults 21 or older can grow up to three immature and three mature cannabis plants privately in a locked space, legally possess all cannabis from the plants they grow (as long as it stays where it was grown), legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis while traveling, and give as a gift up to one ounce to other citizens 21 years of age or older.
Consumption is permitted in a manner similar to alcohol, with equivalent offenses proscribed for driving, although there’s no known policy on skiing or boarding while high.
