Pubdate: Tue, 16 Dec 2014
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Kristen Wyatt

COLORADO RESORT TOWNS WORRY OVER MARIJUANA PERCEPTION

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) - Business is booming in Colorado's mountain 
resorts, and the addition of recreational marijuana stores this year 
has attracted customers curious about legalized cannabis. But there's 
mounting anxiety that ski towns have embraced stoner culture a little 
too much, potentially damaging the state's tourism brand.

That worry flared up in two resort towns last week. In Breckenridge, 
residents voted overwhelmingly to force downtown's lone dispensary 
off Main Street to a less-visible location. And just up the road in 
Granby, town officials used a property annex to prevent the first 
dispensary from opening there.

The fear is that some families - a mainstay of the ski tourism 
industry - will stop vacationing here.

"It's not a morality issue, or that we think marijuana is bad," said 
Breckenridge councilman Gary Gallagher, who supported legal marijuana 
but also voted to force the Breckenridge Cannabis Club out of 
downtown. "Marijuana, it is not in this country's DNA yet. It's a 
little bit too early."

So far, there is no indication that legal marijuana has damaged 
tourism, Colorado's number two industry. The state notched a record 
$17.3 billion in tourism spending the year after legalization, with a 
record 64.6 million visitors, and state tourism officials say 2014 is 
poised to top last year's record.

But it's an open question whether marijuana has anything to do with 
it. Officials cite the improving economy and the weather, with 
healthy snow totals historically being the most significant driver 
for mountain visits.

The state and its cannabis industry are barred by law from 
advertising marijuana out of state, and the head of the Colorado 
Tourism Office said the state isn't tracking the role of marijuana in 
tourist behavior.

"It's all anecdotal," Al White said. "I have heard from some angry 
parents who said they'll never come back to Colorado because of 
marijuana. And I've also heard from people who say they came to 
Colorado just to see the marijuana.

"At the end of the day, it may be having a modest effect, but it's 
not huge either way."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom