First rec shops open in Colo.
Cynthia Johnston, 69, and her cousin Joe Morris, also in his 60s, were some of the first people in line to purchase recreational cannabis in 3D Cannabis Center Colorado when the country’s first legal shops opened on Jan. 1. “It was amazing,” Johnston said, a community leader with the NORML Women’s Alliance of Los Angeles County. “Everyone was beaming.” She estimates that there were around 300 customers in line at 3D Cannabis Center in Denver just after the early-morning press conference. Customers could purchase everything from edibles to joints, and Johnston, a medical patient in both Colorado and California, says “everyone got quality attention.” While she stuck with the traditional smoke able forms of the plant, Morris opted for edibles and tinctures. He recently recovered from a brutal battle with prostate cancer and medicated with cannabis during treatment. Morris prefers the non-intoxicating high-CBD products, now available to all in his state, to the intoxicating high-THC forms because, Johnston says he’s “not a ‘pothead.’” “Edibles seem to be acceptable to an older generation who wouldn’t consider smoking,” Johnston said. 3D Cannabis Center is also opening their doors to show curious customers and tourists where their product comes from, even including large windows to showing anyone wanting a look the plants. But recreational legalization is just the first step for the country, Johnston says. “Now that prohibition is over in Colorado, we have to get people out of jail” for marijuana offenses, said.
BY KATHARINE LOTZE
SENIOR EDITOR