Welcome to the Amsterdam of the Rockies - A ski town weighs opening its doors to marijuana tourists.

[trailmonkee]

—By Josh Harkinson | Mother Jones | Mon Nov. 12, 2012 3:08 AM PST

Two years ago in Breckenridge, Colorado—on April 20 at 4:20 p.m., to be precise—Mike Davis opened up a pot lounge. The 420 Club didn't just cater to medical marijuana patients: Any adult with a bag of weed could come inside, rent a vaporizer, and smoke out. Citizens of this quaint snowboarding village had recently voted to decriminalize pot possession, but local officials figured a pot lounge was a step too far and quickly shut it down. No matter. Breckenridge continued to be known as Colorado's most toker-friendly tourist town—"the Amsterdam of the Rockies."

While Breckenridge's tourism boosters have hesitated to embrace that label—at least publicly—they might change their minds with the passage last week of Amendment 64, a statewide measure to legalize the sale and recreational consumption of pot. "Legalization will be a huge boon to the local economy," says Caitlin McGuire, the owner of the Breckenridge Cannabis Club, one of five medical marijuana dispensaries in this town of just 4,500 residents. "Plenty of people will choose Breckenridge so they can experience our great outdoor beauty—and then relax with a joint at the end of the day."

Be that as it may, Breckenridge is approaching pot tourism like an intermediate skier would scope out a double black diamond: with extreme caution. Local leaders still talk about the fallout from the town's 2009 decriminalization law, which inspired some conservative groups to call for a boycott of the town. "Fifty percent of people thought we were doing the work of the devil, and the other fifty percent thought we were the most enlightened community around," says Mayor John Warner, who backed the law. Ultimately, Breckenridge's embrace of pot had no noticeable effect on tourism, he adds.

more: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/breckenridge-rockies-amendment-64-marijuana-colorado

[kooljerk666]

1. They ought to get together w/ AMTRAK or a freight RR.....

..and have smoking touring vacation train trips, I would be up for that.
Sleeper car, munchies cars, movies (Cheech & Chong w/ Harold & Kumar), sleepers the 9 yards.
I bet ya there would be people from all across the country coming for vacation & spending money!