Recreational marijuana sales begin in Colorado Springs Tuesday

Starting Tuesday, April 15, recreational marijuana sales will begin in Colorado Springs. City records Friday showed 22 storefronts had secured active recreational licenses for opening day.

“People are excited,” said Paul Julian, Corporate Counsel for NuVue Pharma, a Pueblo-based company with one of its seven shops located in the Springs.

“It was kind of a make or break for us,” he said of the Springs location.

Voters in Colorado’s second-largest city passed a measure allowing retail pot last November, more than a decade after the state became the first in the nation to legalize the drug. City leaders had long fought against recreational sales. They argued it would lead to higher crime rates, increase cannabis use by minors and harm the city’s reputation in the hunt for greater military investment. 

City council members attempted to put the issue before voters again this April. That effort was blocked in court.

The new rules allow only existing medical marijuana dispensaries in the city to apply for recreational licenses. Many of the 166 active medical license holders have complained of slowing medical sales in the city for years. Julian said the Springs NuVue location would likely have closed without a recreational license. 

“I was actually camping out in front of the city clerk’s office the morning that applications were allowed to be submitted,” he said. 

Pure Cannabis has been operating medical dispensaries in the city since 2009. General Manager Karlie Vanarnam said she has hired close to 40 new employees in the last two weeks to prepare for the shift to recreational sales at her three stores. 

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Vanarnam said. “It’s been a really long, hard fight and we’re just excited it’s finally coming to fruition.”

Stores may not stock or store recreational marijuana until April 15th as well. While some shops are planning early morning shipments so they can sell as soon as possible on Tuesday. Vanarnam said her team is taking the day to sort through their new inventory before starting their retail sales on Wednesday.

“We’ve got a lot of hands to help us receive that inventory, barcode it, track it,” she said. “I don’t want retail customers coming in on Tuesday to an absolute zoo, nothing stocked on the shelves.”

Come Wednesday, she’ll expand her stores’ opening hours to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 7 days a week.