I’ll never forget how I felt when I heard that Colorado might surpass California in becoming the first state in the country to have legal recreational cannabis.
Amendment 64 was passed by voters in 2012 and led to the opening of retail recreational cannabis sales in January of 2014.
By the time I had settled in Denver, I already had a Colorado Medical Marijuana card from living in Boulder. I moved to Denver to be closer to my family members that live in Aurora. I’m the only one in my family that actually has a medical marijuana card, so I’m often being pestered by brothers and sisters to get them products from the dispensaries around Glendale and Englewood so they can avoid the 15% state tax. I try to tell them to get marijuana cards, but that costs a lot of money. Although the card itself is only $25 each year, you have to see a cannabis physician and the prices vary across the board. I got a really good deal on a physician in the River North Art District who only charges $50 for checkups and recertifications. Other cannabis doctors in Denver charge upwards of $150 per visit. But I use a lot of marijuana throughout the month, between edibles like RSO, vapable products like flower buds and concentrates, and oil cartridges, I’m stopping at a Denver cannabis dispensary at least once a week. With a 15% tax on all statewide recreational cannabis sales, you can see why I’m ready and willing to pay for the medical marijuana card every year.