A lot has changed in Aurora since Oct. 13, 2014. That sunny fall day was the first in city history that a bud of weed was exchanged between a salesman and a client — legally. Since then, 10 recreational pot shops have opened their doors in Aurora, the city’s Marijuana Enforcement Division has hit a groove of normalcy and pot users from across the metro area have started to make the pilgrimage to Colorado’s third largest city to check out its weed. That’s probably just because the stores are open later here and sales taxes are a little less, but still.
Though nothing is ever quite certain in an industry that is only quasi-legal, pot has ingrained itself into the city’s business community over the past six months and, for the time being, appears to be here to stay. Here’s what you can expect to see next.
Labeling rules
It seems that just about everyone in Colorado can agree that labeling marijuana edibles in order to distinguish them from regular food products is a good idea, they just can’t quite decide how to do it. Last year saw the first flurry of regulatory measures regarding marijuana edibles filter through the statehouse, though their implementation has proved to be tricky. Several changes for how pot should be sold have been rolling out over the past year, including that weed-infused goodies be separated into pieces containing 10 milligrams of THC of less, that they be contained in childproof packaging, and that they must be discernible from other foods once out of the wrapper. Lawmakers failed to specify exactly how to mark edibles once out of their wrappers last year and again failed to pass a measure to repeal the measure altogether this year. The sticking point was how to mark, stamp or mark foods like sodas, sauces or granola. For now, it looks like edibles will remain unmarked, and their wrappers relatively unchanged.
Products
There’s always going to be sour diesel, blue dream and AK-47. But what are the products new this year that really have the attention of Aurora’s pot barons? For, Pete Williams of Medicine Man, it’s the prospect of blending strains to better accommodate the many needs of his medicinal customers. Williams said that he’s working with several local doctors and pharmacists to nail down the exact compounds at play in various pot strains and how they benefit certain maladies. He said he aims to soon start combining strains into single joints or pills to be able to cater to specific disorders — ranging from Parkinson’s to epilepsy. Todd Golden of Light Shade said that the most popular product at his store at the moment is a transdermal patch from the company Mary’s Medicinal. Using the same technology as a nicotine patch to curb cigarette smoking, the biggest appeal of the product is that it involves no inhalation or ingestion and has minimal psychoactive effects, according to Golden. “They’re very cutting edge and definitely trending right now — they’re the wave of the future,” he said.
Pot clubs
According to a recent story in The Denver Post’s pot-centered hub, The Cannabist, state Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, said he believes that incarnations of cannabis country clubs could become much more prevalent in the coming years. Who knew? In an interview with the Post’s Joey Bunch, Singer, the longtime marijuana proponent who has backed nearly every pro marijuana measure to come through the state Legislature in the past several years, said, “eventually, we will see cannabis clubs similar to bars.” Right. But it’s not as far fetched as it sounds. The Lazy Lion, Club 64 and several other “marijuana friendly” membership-based clubs are currently operating in Colorado — all of which claim to allow members a safe, relaxed environment in which to enjoy their strain of choice. There are probably myriad more clubs with the same premise in metro Aurora — they just have a little more discretion than to attach their existence to an IP address.
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