{"id":9511,"date":"2022-06-07T12:34:30","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T12:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=5257152"},"modified":"2022-06-07T12:34:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T12:34:30","slug":"this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously\/","title":{"rendered":"This tiny Colorado town may change its name to \u201cKush.\u201d Seriously."},"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\/this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously\/\" 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>It\u2019s easy to miss Moffat \u2014 a 120-person town in southern Colorado\u2019s San Luis Valley that long has been known for its agriculture and ranching history.<\/p>\n<p>But if Mike Biggio has his way, this tiny outpost on the edge of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve soon\u00a0will be rebranded to reflect what he views as the future of a dying valley.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to Kush, Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking to establish this as a world-renowned cannabis region,\u201d Biggio said.<\/p>\n<p>Five years ago, Biggio and his business partner founded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/05\/04\/marijuana-rural-urban-hooper-election-legal-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Area 420<\/a>, a collection of 70 grow operations in town that likely represents the highest concentration of cannabis producers in Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>Now Biggio wants the town\u2019s name to showcase its economic engine: \u201cKush,\u201d a moniker for marijuana named after the Hindu Kush mountain range in south-central Asia, could be the next <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/dispatch\/how-legalization-changed-humboldt-county-weed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Humboldt County, California<\/a>, he said.\u00a0The Napa Valley for bud.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis would show the town has both feet in on this and reflect the new culture here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Biggio\u2019s effort to change the town\u2019s name begins 7 p.m. Tuesday at Moffat\u2019s Board of Trustees meeting. The town lacks the ability to showcase PowerPoint presentations, so Biggio has printed out pages of evidence that this can be done: Wikipedia pages for the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hindu_Kush\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hindu Kush<\/a>, a radio station\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/95rockfm.com\/colorado-original-names-towns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">list of previous Colorado name changes<\/a> and Forbes articles talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/willyakowicz\/2022\/05\/29\/cannabis-tourism-is-now-a-17-billion-industry-and-its-just-taking-off\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tourism booms<\/a> precipitated by legal weed. Tuesday\u2019s meeting is strictly informational, an opening salvo before any votes are taken.<\/p>\n<p>The craziest part of all this? Biggio may well have the support he needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChange is always good,\u201d said Cassandra Foxx, Moffat\u2019s mayor, who said she\u2019d vote for Kush. \u201cThe most dangerous phrase is, \u2018We\u2019ve always done it this way.\u2019 That\u2019s the death of society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/05\/04\/marijuana-rural-urban-hooper-election-legal-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moffat is an anomaly<\/a>, a cannabis oasis in a deeply red swath of Colorado not too keen on bringing in grows or dispensaries.<\/p>\n<p>But cannabis has unequivocally reinvigorated the town, Foxx said. Since Area 420 took root five years ago, tax revenue has skyrocketed in a place that had virtually none beforehand: $80,000 quickly became $120,000 per year. Then $200,000. Last year Moffat took in some $400,000 in excise taxes \u2014 nearly all of which came from the marijuana industry.<\/p>\n<p>The infusion of cash has been used to fund research for a new water and sewer system, school upgrades, fresh paving and housing development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis town was able to just exist,\u201d Foxx said of life before Area 420. \u201cThey were just there. The status quo was kept. Then Area 420 came and brought us industry. It\u2019s been exponential growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Longtime resident J.W. Matthews called the push for Kush \u201cbrilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need fresh blood,\u201d he said. \u201cThe name change is gonna be a great thing, a positive step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5189451\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Litrenta checks on some of his marijuana plants inside Flower Factory at Area 420 on April 20, 2022, in Moffat, Colorado.\" width=\"4176\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/this-tiny-colorado-town-may-change-its-name-to-kush-seriously.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TDP-L-RURAL_CANNABIS_044.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TDP-L-RURAL_CANNABIS_044.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TDP-L-RURAL_CANNABIS_044.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TDP-L-RURAL_CANNABIS_044.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Matt Litrenta checks on some of his marijuana plants inside Flower Factory at Area 420 on April 20, 2022, in Moffat, Colorado.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Not everyone is dying to get Kush on the map, though.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe name change?\u201d said town trustee Ken Skoglund. \u201c(Expletive) no!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The longtime Moffat resident considers Biggio a friend, someone who hired Skoglund\u2019s excavation business to build the weed enclave. He supports Area 420 and all it\u2019s done for the town and is even willing to market cannabis as part of the town\u2019s allure.<\/p>\n<p>But calling the town Kush?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s overreach,\u201d Skoglund said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about money. It\u2019s about right and wrong and we represent the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t happen much anymore, but Colorado municipalities have a long, rich history of altering their names.<\/p>\n<p>Telluride, before 1887, was known as Columbia, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/article\/news\/local\/next\/how-post-office-confusion-forced-two-colorado-towns-to-change-their-names\/73-521160511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">changed its name<\/a> because the U.S. Postal Service kept delivering people\u2019s mail to a town by the same name in California. Eldora used to be known as Eldorado, but had the same problem as Telluride. <a href=\"https:\/\/aspenhistory.org\/aspen-history\/the-mining-boom-1879-1893\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aspen was called Ute City<\/a> into the late 19th century.<\/p>\n<p>Biggio says another reason for the name change is that the town is often confused with Moffat County, which sits in the far northwest corner of the state. That confusion caused one cannabis cultivator in town to rip up $100,000 worth of plants weeks early, anticipating a frost destined for Craig, not Moffat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe name isn\u2019t just to be cute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Town officials say they\u2019re still figuring out how a change could even happen \u2014 whether it would take a ballot measure or a petition. Biggio said concerns about citizens having to redo all their paperwork if the town flips names are overblown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s put this up to whatever fair democratic measure and let the public speak,\u201d Biggio said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Kush,&#8221; a moniker for marijuana named after the Hindu Kush mountain range in south-central Asia, could be the next Humboldt County, California.\u00a0The Napa Valley for bud. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[52,6811,7938,77,5577,7816,6815,9,5019,8392,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[2632,6816,7939,2655,5580,7818,6820,5022,8407],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9511"}],"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=9511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}