{"id":9546,"date":"2022-09-08T20:32:58","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T20:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=5372382"},"modified":"2022-09-08T20:32:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T20:32:58","slug":"bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing marijuana to Morrison \u2014 where Red Rocks concertgoers tailgate into the night \u2014 is harder than it seems"},"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\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems\/\" 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>Of the thousands of revelers who head up the hill from Morrison to Red Rocks Amphitheatre to catch a show on any given night, a portion is probably\u00a0high, about to get high or at least thinking about getting high.<\/p>\n<p>But one thing\u2019s for sure \u2014 they didn\u2019t buy their weed in Morrison.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because this tiny town of fewer than 500 \u2014 for decades the gateway to mind-altering music shows at the famous concert venue where tailgating goes down on an epic scale \u2014 doesn\u2019t have a single pot shop.<\/p>\n<p>That could change after voters this past spring finally opened the door to the establishment of one licensed dispensary in town, nearly a decade after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/01\/01\/worlds-first-legal-recreational-marijuana-sales-begin-in-colorado\/\">Colorado first legalized recreational cannabis sales<\/a>. But marijuana in Morrison is turning out to be easier said than done.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because the April 5 ballot measure, which passed overwhelmingly with 82 yes votes to 39 no votes, specified that the one allowed shop in town would have to be \u201ceast of the Dakota hogback formation.\u201d That means away from well-trod Bear Creek Avenue, where for years a cozy collection of restaurants, bars and boutiques have drawn in thousands of tourists and locals to this quaint corner of Jefferson County.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a carve-out that Katie Gill, Morrison\u2019s mayor pro-tem, said was likely the only way the ballot measure would have passed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was a way the town could put it to voters: Would you like there to be sales of marijuana here \u2014 but east of the hogback,\u201d she said. \u201cI think if we had run it anywhere in town, it would have been different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But sequestering a pot shop to the other side of the 50 million-year-old sandstone ridge that separates the plains from the foothills up and down Colorado\u2019s Front Range has proven to be a dud for the state\u2019s marijuana industry, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/02\/10\/colorado-marijuana-cannabis-record-sales-2021\/\">set a record last year of $2.22 billion in sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5373096\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems.jpg\" alt=\"Main Street of Downtown Morrison photographed ...\" width=\"5261\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-1092.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-1092.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-1092.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-1092.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Main Street of downtown Morrison is pictured with with Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Several property owners around the Phillips 66 gas station at the Morrison exit off of C-470, which with its distinctive clocktower serves as Morrison\u2019s unofficial entrance, want nothing to do with retail pot. And that has resulted in \u201cliterally nowhere for a dispensary to go\u201d in Morrison, according to Truman Bradley, who heads up the Marijuana Industry Group.<\/p>\n<p>Since Morrison launched a lottery for its one and only license on July 18, the town hasn\u2019t received a single bid from the marijuana industry. That contrasts with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2021\/10\/05\/broomfield-marijuana-licenses-lottery-lawsuit-terrapin\/\">deluge of applications Broomfield received last year<\/a> when it announced the awarding through a lottery of its three recreational cannabis licenses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf towns like Morrison want cannabis sales and tax revenue, they should legalize and regulate in a way where the town\u2019s residents and businesses can be successful,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cMarijuana stores are like any other retail business \u2014 they need to be around other businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Brewster Caesar, who has called Morrison home for a decade and a half, said he and his fellow residents \u201cwant to keep the town the way it is.\u201d It\u2019s challenging enough dealing with up to 9,000 people heading to Red Rocks nearly every night of the summer without putting a marijuana outlet where it will lure \u201cmore people to hang out in town stoned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>There are already traffic and parking challenges on Bear Creek Avenue, and Red Rocks Elementary School isn\u2019t far away, Caesar said. The grandfather of four said he doesn\u2019t want to see children in Morrison coming face to face with the industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are minuscule \u2014 we have only 120 houses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But Caesar is no fool when it comes to the tax windfall that could come from weed sales in town. Last year, Colorado took in more than $423 million in tax and fee revenue from weed sales across the state. Morrison projects $185,000 in tax revenues a year from its one licensed store.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a fine line when you\u2019re a small town \u2014 where do you get your revenues?\u201d Caesar said.<\/p>\n<p>Morrison has infrastructure and public safety needs \u2014 the town wants to hire another police officer and complete beautification projects in its business district \u2014 but doesn\u2019t have tons of ways of generating cash.<\/p>\n<p>Gill, the mayor pro tem, said there is no doubt that the nearly $200,000 a year a pot shop would generate in a town with an annual budget of less than $5 million, could be invaluable. But not at the expense of Morrison\u2019s quality of life, she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5373094\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Cow an Eatery sign photographed ...\" width=\"7514\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems-1.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bringing-marijuana-to-morrison-where-red-rocks-concertgoers-tailgate-into-the-night-is-harder-than-it-seems-1.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-846.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-846.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-846.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TDP-L-morrison090722-cha-846.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sinage for parking and restaurants are pictured on Main Street of Downtown Morrison on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"related right\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>That\u2019s why, on Tuesday, the town council voted to suspend its marijuana licensing lottery and explore opening up a 1-acre parcel of town-owned land north of its wastewater treatment plant \u2014 on the east side of C-470 \u2014 as a possible location for its first and only marijuana dispensary.<\/p>\n<p>Gill describes the process in which Morrison finds itself regarding its cannabis future a \u201cwork in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a roadblock,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing is set in stone \u2014 one of these landowners could change their mind. Everything\u2019s open, everything\u2019s on the table, and we\u2019ll see what conversations are brought to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Caesar actually voted in favor of the ballot measure legalizing marijuana sales in Morrison. But he remains firm that east of the hogback is the place for it. And that\u2019s the message he takes from the electorate at large.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a recognition that it was going to happen,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we wanted to keep it out of the residential area, away from the school and away from the center of town.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Of the thousands of revelers who head up the hill from Morrison to Red Rocks Amphitheater to catch a show on any given night, many are likely high, about to get high or at least thinking about getting high. But one thing&#8217;s for sure \u2014 they didn&#8217;t buy their weed in Morrison. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[52,6811,8436,7938,77,5577,7816,6815,9,5019,8124,6845,8018,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[2632,6816,8437,7939,2655,5580,7818,6820,5022,8127,6846,8022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9546"}],"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=9546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}