Pubdate: Wed, 27 May 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

NEW CANNABIS CLUB OPENS ON THE WEST SIDE

New hole in OCC

The west side officially joined the Colorado Springs cannabis-club 
craze a month ago, when The Pothole (519 N. 30th St., 
thepotholeclub.com) opened in the old Green Earth Wellness Center 
spot. Owner Gabe Pieper, 36, grew up in Colorado Springs before 
moving to Denver, but says he's back to participate in the changing culture.

"I've been smoking and doing the marijuana thing pretty much my whole 
life," Pieper says, "and just took the opportunity that was in front 
of us to help give the people what they want, I guess, have some fun. 
It's kind of a dream to have a weed bar."

Pieper describes the place as "almost like your basement cool room, 
when you were a teenager. Foosball tables, bean bags, just a fun 
place to chill."

As of now, the club carries keef, shatter, wax, edibles, drinks, 
pre-rolls and 15 different strains of bud. You can also bring your 
own. Otherwise, after paying the $5 entrance fee (ladies are free) 
you reimburse the club, Pieper says, for growing your six 
recreational marijuana plants that you've signed over. As with all 
cannabis clubs, there's no city regulation of the set-up, but it's 
not specifically outlawed, either.

Earlier in the month, the club organized a collaborative crawl that 
sent eight limousine-riding participants around to other social 
clubs, like Studio A64 and 420 Speakeasy, where they consumed a gram 
of shatter at each spot. More regularly, there are themed events for 
each day of the week, like foosball tournaments and "smoker poker" on 
Tuesdays, or art night on Wednesdays, "where we feature a different 
artist every week and have a fun art project for members, like paint 
a naked person or make bongs out of fruit or something like that."

Looking at the scene overall, Pieper says: "It's a new day and age, 
so I think it's an awesome thing that we've all fought for, for a 
long time, and it's coming to light. It still seems a bit taboo and 
weird, because it's such a big, drastic change over what we've become 
accustomed to for so long, but hopefully it's here to stay for a long 
time, and will only get better."

And, naturally, there's a large pothole in the parking lot. It's 
named Mary Jane.

Federal mood shifting

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 18 to 12 to 
pass an amendment to a large military spending bill that would allow 
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend medical 
marijuana to their patients, an act currently prohibited by VHA 
Directive 2011-004. The move is a victory for marijuana proponents, 
though the full bill still has several congressional votes to go 
before heading to the president's desk.

"This is the first time we've ever won a vote on a positive marijuana 
reform measure in the Senate," says Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana 
Majority, in a release. "And with polls showing that a growing 
majority of voters supports ending prohibition, it's safe to say it 
won't be the last."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom