{"id":10600,"date":"2025-01-19T14:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=6894650"},"modified":"2025-01-19T14:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T14:00:15","slug":"colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Springs finally approved recreational marijuana. Could the new market be snuffed out before it starts?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>COLORADO SPRINGS \u2014 Voters here chose to legalize recreational marijuana sales for the first time in the city\u2019s history last fall, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1MCUtQLdMAkNURRSqQrFMcIZaeW9kshH-\/view\">casting 22,372 more votes in favor<\/a> than against Question 300 on the Nov. 5 ballot.<\/p>\n<p>But for some members of <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosprings.gov\/citycouncil\">the Colorado Springs City Council<\/a>, the more-than-9-percentage-point electoral margin backing the establishment of a retail cannabis industry in Colorado\u2019s second-largest city wasn\u2019t definitive enough. Elected leaders in the politically conservative community are gearing up to place a new measure on the April 1 municipal ballot that would overturn November\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re just going to give the citizens one chance to make sure this was their intent,\u201d Councilman Dave Donelson told The Denver Post in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Referral of a recreational marijuana prohibition measure to the spring ballot is expected to pass at the council\u2019s next meeting Jan. 28.<\/p>\n<p>Donelson points to last fall\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado,_Ballot_Question_300,_Regulations_on_Recreational_Marijuana_Retail_Sales_Initiative_(November_2024)\">Question 300<\/a>, which included language about license limitations and setbacks from schools and day care operations, as overly dense and confusing. That there was a competing measure on the same ballot all-out banning recreational marijuana sales \u2014 put there by the council\u00a0\u2014 muddled things more, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegular people are busy \u2014 they have kids crying, they have jobs. They don\u2019t read this like lawyers,\u201d the first-term councilman said.<\/p>\n<p>But while he says the goal is \u201csimply verifying that this is what the voters truly intended,\u201d those behind November\u2019s ballot question say the people have already spoken, <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosprings.gov\/system\/files\/2024-12\/2024%20Certificates%20of%20Votes%20Cast%20Combined.pdf\">loudly and clearly<\/a>. They approved Question 300 and rejected <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado,_Ballot_Question_2D,_Prohibit_Retail_Marijuana_Establishments_Measure_(November_2024)\">Question 2D<\/a>, the marijuana prohibition measure.<\/p>\n<p>Question 300 supporters accuse the anti-marijuana majority on the council of using baldly underhanded tactics to thwart the will of the voters in this city of nearly half a million people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOlder and more conservative voters tend to vote more in off-cycle elections,\u201d said Karlie Van Arnam, the general manager of the medical cannabis dispensary Pure, of the potential new ballot measure. \u201cIt\u2019s the crowd they want \u2014 the will of the few to override the will of the many.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pure is one of nearly 90 medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado Springs. Medical sales have been legal in the city for more than a decade, while the recreational side of the industry has failed to take hold in the 11 years since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/01\/01\/worlds-first-legal-recreational-marijuana-sales-begin-in-colorado\/\">first retail weed shop opened in Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Just two years ago, Colorado Springs voters <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosprings.gov\/document\/results-coloradospringsonly.pdf\">rejected a measure to legalize recreational sales<\/a>, though they passed a separate measure to tax those sales at 5%, should they become legal.<\/p>\n<p>Then, last fall, nearly 55% of Colorado Springs voters said yes to recreational sales.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6894083\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts.jpg\" alt=\"Pikes Peak is reflected in the storefront windows of Pure, a medical cannabis dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"7226\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"6894083\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-134.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-134.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-134.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-134.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pikes Peak is reflected in the storefront windows of Pure, a medical cannabis dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At a meeting last week that packed City Hall\u00a0with dozens of agitated residents, Councilwoman Yolanda Avila, a voice of dissent on the nine-member body, accused her colleagues of trying to engineer a favorable electoral outcome this spring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to have the least voter turnout on April 1 because we don\u2019t even have a mayor running,\u201d Avila said. \u201cIt\u2019s the lowest, lowest turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kent Jarnig, a Vietnam War combat vet who helped found <a href=\"https:\/\/epccpv.org\/\">the El Paso County Colorado Progressive Veterans<\/a>, told the council it should be easier for veterans to access marijuana to help them treat post-traumatic stress disorder\u00a0and other traumas incurred from their service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just get the feeling the City Council is going to keep putting this on the ballot until it is voted down,\u201d he said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, eliciting loud applause from the audience.<\/p>\n<h4>Longtime anti-cannabis ethos<\/h4>\n<p>Colorado Springs, by not allowing recreational cannabis sales,\u00a0is an outlier among Colorado\u2019s five biggest cities.<\/p>\n<p>For eight years ending in 2023, the city was led by Mayor John Suthers, who previously served as Colorado\u2019s attorney general and U.S. attorney.\u00a0He was known as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2012\/11\/07\/colorado-attorney-general-suthers-says-he-will-respect-marijuana-measure\/\">ardent opponent of cannabis legalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While Colorado Springs has a wealth of medical marijuana dispensaries, there are enough hurdles in place \u2014 the need to get a doctor\u2019s note and purchase a green card from the state \u2014 that Tom Scudder says that side of the industry simply can\u2019t compete with the recreational side. In a retail storefront, the only requirement is that the customer has 21 years under her belt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been going out of business for three years,\u201d said Scudder, who owns a pair of medical stores and a grow operation in the city. He serves as president of the Colorado Springs Cannabis Association.<\/p>\n<p>While the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2023\/05\/21\/colorado-cannabis-marijuana-weed-dispensaries-downturn\/\">entire industry in Colorado has taken a hit<\/a> following the COVID-19 pandemic cannabis surge that sent sales <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/02\/10\/colorado-marijuana-cannabis-record-sales-2021\/\">to a record $2.2 billion statewide<\/a> in 2021, the medical market has been on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/09\/13\/colorado-marijuana-sales-july-lowest-single-legalization\/\">even steeper decline in recent years<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Scudder said that what is now a $72 million annual business in the city could blossom to $130 million in the first year of recreational cannabis sales \u2014 and $171 million a year by 2030. The city could see anywhere from $7 million to $10 million in annual sales tax revenue by that later date, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey literally could solve homelessness overnight if they allowed these sales to go through and used it for that,\u201d Scudder said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s just insane we\u2019re not doing that. They are fanatics in this respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tax on recreational marijuana sales that voters passed in 2022 would allocate the money to three buckets: support for military veterans, enhanced public safety and funding for mental health.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s only if voters in April don\u2019t overturn what voters in November decided.<\/p>\n<p>The whole situation has Aaron Bluse beyond frustrated. The 38-year-old entrepreneur, who has been in the cannabis industry for more than a decade, has three medical shops in Colorado Springs. He also has a dual-license storefront in Dillon in Summit County, which he says often pulls in as much business in one day as all three of his Altitude Organic Medicine shops do.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6891781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Bluse, owner of Altitude Organic Medicine, stands in the grow house in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"7264\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-1.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"6891781\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-1.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0302.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0302.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0302.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0302.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aaron Bluse, owner of Altitude Organic Medicine, stands in the grow house in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A big part of the problem, Bluse said, is that Colorado Springs\u2019 dozens of medical pot shops are largely chasing after just over <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/medical-marijuana-registry-data\">22,000 medical marijuana card holders<\/a> in El Paso County. That reality prompted him and other marijuana advocates to spearhead a signature-gathering effort last spring to get Question 300 on the November ballot.<\/p>\n<p>They <a href=\"https:\/\/epc-assets.elpasoco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/Sample-Ballot-General-2024_Accessible-2.0.pdf\">structured the measure<\/a> to assure voters that the industry wouldn\u2019t be able to operate in too freewheeling of a manner, Bluse said. It stated that only existing medical shops could apply for a recreational license, creating a de facto cap on the number of retail stores allowed in Colorado Springs. It also stipulated that any dispensaries selling recreational weed would have to be at least 1,000 feet from schools or day care centers.<\/p>\n<p>Right away, Bluse said, the City Council began to fight the measure.<\/p>\n<p>In September, it passed a preemptive ordinance to increase the 1,000-foot setback to a mile, effectively precluding just about any location in the city from qualifying for a retail license.<\/p>\n<p>Then the council placed Question 2D, the recreational marijuana prohibition measure \u2014 an amendment to the city charter that could have trumped 300 \u2014 on the same ballot. Just this month, Colorado Springs\u2019 elected leaders advanced a new ordinance to again increase setbacks to a mile.<\/p>\n<p>While that ordinance was voted down last week, the new ballot measure wiping out the old one potentially looms in April.\u00a0Councilwoman Nancy Henjum has been outspoken on the aggressive tactics her council colleagues have taken to throw a monkey wrench into a situation the voters approved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI find it a blatant disregard of the will of the voters and am gobsmacked that in the city that is known to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2021\/06\/20\/libertarian-party-50th-anniversary-colorado\/\">the birthplace of libertarianism<\/a>, that this City Council would conclude that it knows what is better for people than the will of its own constituents and voters by majority,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h4>\u201cEvery day, like clockwork\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>If the aim of city leaders is to reduce residents\u2019 overall access to marijuana, Bluse says it\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEleven minutes from City Hall, you can get recreational pot in Manitou Springs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Or in Pueblo, 30 minutes down the road. Or in Palmer Lake, 23 minutes to the north.<\/p>\n<p>Bluse has to turn away at least 10 people a day who seek recreational pot at his medical stores.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s every day, like clockwork,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Often, he sends them to Dead Flowers in Palmer Lake, an eclectic retail pot shop\u00a0decorated in evocative murals of classic rockers like Jim Morrison, Slash, Freddie Mercury and \u2014 owner Dino Salvatori\u2019s favorite \u2014 the Rolling Stones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been in medical for a long time, and there is no money in it,\u201d said Salvatori, who has run a medical marijuana shop in Palmer Lake for more than a decade. He now owns a dual-license shop after voters in the northern El Paso County town legalized recreational sales in 2022.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6891784\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-2.jpg\" alt=\"Seedling plants grow at Altitude Organic Medicine's grow house in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"5959\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-2.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"6891784\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-2.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0039.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0039.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0039.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-CO-Springs-Pot-RJS-0039.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seedling plants grow at Altitude Organic Medicine\u2019s grow house in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Salvatori, 64, went from greeting 12 to 15 people a day in the year leading up to Palmer Lake\u2019s marijuana election to around 350 people daily now \u2014 even up to 450 on Fridays.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad that not passed, I would have gotten out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Now business is going gangbusters with referrals from Colorado Springs. But nearly half his clientele comes from the opposite direction in Douglas County, which permits no cannabis sales of any kind.<\/p>\n<p>He recognizes that as long as there are no recreational cannabis sales in Colorado Springs, it will be good for his pocketbook. But Salvatori also feels badly for the voters to his south, who he feels are being disenfranchised by their own elected leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people voted for it \u2014 and last time I checked, that\u2019s what elections are about,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m leaning more towards letting them have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Worries about youth use<\/h4>\n<p>Arguments against recreational marijuana in Colorado Springs have run the gamut from concern over youth use to worries about whether, as a military town, the city could see its role as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2024\/11\/22\/space-force-colorado-alabama-trump-command-headquarters\/\">host of U.S. Space Command<\/a> jeopardized by the commercialization of a drug that is still illegal at the federal level.<\/p>\n<p>At last week\u2019s council meeting, Councilman David Leinweber made it clear that he is a supporter of medical marijuana \u2014 even calling the industry \u201cawesome.\u201d But he said he had \u201cdeep concerns\u201d about the drug getting into the hands of young people, which he feels is more likely if the industry expands in the city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch has increasingly linked early and frequent marijuana (use) to elevated risks of psychosis, anxiety and mental health challenges, particularly in youth whose brains are still developing,\u201d Leinweber said.<\/p>\n<p>A 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10097013\/\">study published by the National Institutes of Health<\/a> stated, \u201cThere are concerns that the use of products with increased potency will increase risk for cannabis use and comorbid mental health disorders, particularly cannabis-induced psychosis and suicidal behavior \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It concluded that because young brains develop over a long time, \u201cyouth are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to find a balance between the benefits and the negative aspects of this,\u201d Leinweber said.<\/p>\n<p>The Post\u2019s attempts to reach several other council members who look dimly on cannabis use were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>Van Arnam, with Pure, said youth use of marijuana is actually on the decline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen youth use drop in regulated markets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6894076\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-3.jpg\" alt=\"Lisa Breeden sorts medical marijuana products at Pure, a medical cannabis dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"7957\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-3.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"6894076\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/colorado-springs-finally-approved-recreational-marijuana-could-the-new-market-be-snuffed-out-before-it-starts-3.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-257.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-257.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-257.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TDP-L-puredispensary011525-cha-257.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Breeden sorts medical marijuana products at Pure, a medical cannabis dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to the most recent <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/healthy-kids-colorado-survey-dashboard\">Healthy Kids Colorado survey<\/a>, the share of high school students in Colorado reporting use of marijuana at least once in the previous month dropped to 12.8% in 2023 from 13.3% two years earlier. Both of those figures were well below the more than 20% who answered the question affirmatively in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>And compliance with state rules on youth restrictions has been strong in the industry, Van Arnam said. <a href=\"https:\/\/lookerstudio.google.com\/u\/0\/reporting\/b7952e72-713b-4880-b4e2-01370b36ebab\/page\/p_tc49hpi4zc\">State data show<\/a> that undercover underage operatives who attempted to purchase marijuana in Colorado were denied 99% of the time in each of the last three years.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\"> <\/aside>\n<p>If Colorado Springs\u2019 council votes to put its prohibition measure on the April ballot at the end of this month, industry advocate Scudder said, there\u2019s no saying what might happen. The city is scheduled to begin accepting applications for recreational licenses in February, with the first licenses expected to be issued in April.<\/p>\n<p>Scudder said voters in Colorado Springs have rejected recreational marijuana before. With the much smaller \u2014 and more conservative \u2014 pool of voters likely to turn out for a spring municipal election, the anti-cannabis forces would hold the advantage, he thinks.<\/p>\n<p>He and his allies will have to make as much noise as they can and appeal to voters\u2019 sense of fairness, Scudder said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a hell of a challenge,\u201d he said, \u201cand I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re going to be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.denverpost.com\/dp\/preference\">Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>The Colorado Springs City Council may refer a new election ballot measure asking voters to vote, again, on recreational cannabis sales &#8212; just months after voters approved retail pot. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6834,5062,52,6811,6857,7333,10739,8156,7143,1547,784,8145,6892,7212,7938,10740,77,5577,7816,6853,6933,6999,6815,5667,6858,6822,6921,56,9,6557,8309,5019,441,7243,6845,8018,10741,1,3,10742,61,1736],"tags":[6836,5063,2632,6816,6859,7334,10743,8159,7144,4115,3357,8150,6893,7214,7939,10744,2655,5580,7818,6854,6934,7000,6820,5673,6860,6824,6922,2636,6560,8310,5022,3015,7244,6846,8022,10745,10746],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}