Pubdate: Wed, 04 Mar 2015 Source: Colorado Springs Independent (CO) Column: CannaBiz Copyright: 2015 Colorado Springs Independent Contact: http://www.csindy.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1536 Author: Bryce Crawford MANITOU GETS MORE RECREATIONAL POT AT EMERALD FIELDS More pot hits Manitou If you've heard some Dylan and now refuse to work on Maggie's Farm, there's new acreage in Manitou Springs. Emerald Fields (emeraldfields.com) tentatively plans to open on March 16 in the old Wild Ginger building at 27 Manitou Ave., becoming the town's second and final recreational marijuana store. Though the company currently operates a store in Glendale, the new outlet will become its flagship operation, says director of marketing Caitlin Murphy. "We're gonna have a huge selection of edibles, lots of great flower, different price tiers," she says. "Lots of great merchandise as well, for tourists, since Manitou's a big tourist spot." Murphy says the store is about 3,000 square feet and will focus on the shopping experience as much as the product (which will be grown in-house later but is currently being purchased). "We want to make sure that people can come in and go at their own pace," she says. "So, the concept is 'open,' meaning you can sit and chat with an attendant for 20 minutes if you need to; or if you kind of know what you're getting into, you can come in, look around and immediately get to a cash register. "But we're shooting for high-end; our tag line is 'a cannaboutique.' . We just want it to be nice, [and] open. Everything's custom, everything's really well-built and nice and beautiful. So, we're really pumped about it." Acapulco gold (medal) After rolling out a cannabis comic-book convention last year, Speak Easy Vape Lounge (2508 E. Bijou St., speakeasycannabisclub.com) is set to take on the Olympics with this weekend's Cannalympics. Running all day, the event features a silent auction for artwork, music from DJ Chris Diablo and some smoky competitions. For instance, Bong Pong ("Pong taken to another level of highness. As you drop the ball there will be cards that say what to smoke"), MacGyver: ("Apples, foil, paper, whatever you got. Must be smokable"); and Biggest Blunt. Tickets run from $10 (basic) to $25 (VIP) and include a gift bag and food. Drug bunnies This week's sign of the apocalypse: Beginning his testimony with "I come with some severe concerns," Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Matt Fairbanks last week told the Utah Senate that one of the reasons his organization opposed medical marijuana in the state is because of the time it encountered a backcountry grow full of "rabbits that had cultivated a taste for the marijuana." Fairbanks said one rabbit "refused to leave us, and we took all the marijuana around him but his natural instincts to run were somehow gone." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom