Pubdate: Tue, 08 Mar 2016
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2016 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Aguilar

CANNABIS CUP DROPS BID TO PUT POT EVENT IN PUEBLO COUNTY

Officials behind the High Times Cannabis Cup have told Pueblo County 
they are no longer interested in obtaining a special event permit for 
the popular pot festival, scheduled for April.

In a statement released during the weekend, a representative for High 
Times didn't specify why the magazine chose to end its quest to 
locate the vast outdoor marijuana fair-the biggest of its kind in the 
world- in southern Colorado.

The magazine said it respected "the need for all parties involved to 
have confidence in all operational aspects of the event" and that it 
looked forward to "hosting a future High Times event in Colorado."

Reached at High Times' New York office on Monday, chief operating 
officer Larry Linietsky said the decision came down to a matter of 
timing. The event in Pueblo was to have been April 16- 18.

"Given where we are timewise, we don't feel confident we can pull 
together the event with the quality we need," Linietsky said.

The U. S. Cannabis Cup was held at the Denver Mart in Adams County in 
2014 and 2015 on the same weekend as the massive 4/ 20 pro-marijuana 
celebration in downtown Denver, but county commissioners on Feb. 16 
denied the event a permit at that venue for 2016, citing safety 
concerns and excessive public consumption of weed.

High Times immediately pursued a new location to hold the event on 
private property in Pueblo County. It was to have been held at The 
Yard, an entertainment venue owned by Tom and Anna- Marie Giodone.

The Yard is best known as the venue for Bands in the Backyard, a 
music festival that will host Kid Rock, Alabama, Three Doors Down and 
others July 17- 18.

Linietsky said High Times hasn't eliminated Colorado as a future host 
of a U.S. Cannabis Cup despite two locations in the state falling 
through this year.

"I'm hopeful we can do the U.S. Cannabis Cup in Colorado, for sure," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom