P. Hanahoe-Dosch

Boulder, Colorado, is a small, beautiful city situated at the bottom o[p1] f the Rocky Mountains. It is home to the University of Colorado and the Naropa Institute, �a Buddhist-inspired, student-centered liberal arts university,� according to the institute�s website. And according to Weedmaps.com, there are 35 shops that dispense recreational marijuana in Boulder. TheTerrapin Care Station was the first of these to open; it has two locations, and the company that owns the dispensary, Genetic Locker, LLC,  is the largest grower and supplier of marijuana in Boulder, supplying a small percent of the other dispensaries, as well as their own, claimed one of the clerks at the Folsom Street shop.

The Terrapin Care Station, at 1795 Folsom Street, Boulder, Colorado, sits on one of the main thoroughfares in the city, close to the main buildings of the university�s campus. It has its own parking lot. When a customer first walks in the store, he or she is greeted by one of the salespeople in the front room, who is dressed in a standard business attire of tie, shirt[p2] , and pants. He looks like he could be selling appliances at Sears. The other salesperson in the front room is dressed in a very nice [p3] dress and looks like any clerk in [p4] a high-end boutique. The first salesperson checks customers� ID w[p5] hen they first walk into the store, and then hands them each a number. There is a steady flow of people of all ages and types in and out of the shop.

There are several middle aged, middle class white[p6]  women (actually all but one customer was white), a couple of men probably in their early twenties who looked like college students with the requisite dirty, torn jeans, t-shirts, moderately long hair and beards (actually, they looked like student did in [p7] my day, in the early eighties), an African-American, middle class [p8] woman who looked like she was in her mid twenties, and a number of hippie left-overs, guys in their sixties, wearing ragged jeans, motorcycle boots, t-shirts, long hair with a bandanna, and beard. Actually, they all look middle class, even the college students. The motorcycles and cars parked outside are all nice ones, not cheap.  But n[p9] either is the marijuana. Just one pre-rolled joint costs $12 � with tax, $13.

Customers stand around by an ATM machine or a small glass display cabinet filled with various paraphernalia for smoking the weed, or they sit on a comfortable couch in the small, front room till [p10] their numbers are called. The marijuana is all sold in the back room to only a few people at a time. This may sound sordid and sneaky, but it is a way to prevent any possible thefts or misuse. [p11] 

One by one, each customer�s number is called as others leave. The customer goes into the back room, which looks just like a bakery shop combined with an old fashioned [p12] pharmacy. There are two counters on either side of the room. On shelves, in plastic bins, there are many different varieties of cannabis, each bin labeled with its name. [p13] Different types have different levels of THC and other chemicals, in different mixes. Consequently, some are better for inflammation or anxiety; others are better at giving a great high. A person can also buy just the marijuana itself, or buy it already rolled. It can be bought as baked goods or candy. It depends on whether the customer wants to ingest or smoke it. The store also sells bongs, pipes and other paraphernalia used to smoke weed.

The guys who sell it all there in that back room are experts on the substances. They can tell you which variety is better for anxiety, or other problem, and why. They understand the science of growing the plants as well as the science of using them. One explained that people �back in the day� didn�t know they were supposed to smoke the female plant, and smoke the flowers, not the stems. He hands out the product in a plastic, white [p14] bottle that looks like [p15] an over-sized pill bottle. A sticker wrapped around the bottle announces �The marijuana contained within this package has not been tested for potency, consume with caution. The marijuana contained within this package has not been tested for contaminants. There may be health risks associated with the consumption of this product. This product is intended for use by adults 21 years and older. Keep out of reach of children. This product is unlawful out of the state of Colorado. There may be additional health risks associated with the consumption of this product for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning on becoming pregnant. Do not drive a motor vehicle or operate heavy machinery while using marijuana.� [p16] 

The Terrapin Care Station is owned by the Genetic Locker, LLC.  They grow all of their own �product� in �warehouses� in CO. They also supply some of the other distributors. By CO law, a merchant selling recreational marijuana must grow at least 70% of their product themselves. This is one of many reasons there are more shops selling only medical marijuana in CO than selling recreational. The paperwork and regulations are much stricter, and it is more difficult to get a license to recreational marijuana. [look up regs] �They [the state legislature] really don�t know what they are doing, so they made a huge amount of laws for everything,� said one of the clerks in the front room. It was unclear whether he and the woman working in front with him were just clerk, managers, or more than that. They were hesitant to talk much other than to answer simple questions about the products and the business. They did both admit, though, that they had plenty of the marijuana plants grown and ready for sale before the law legalizing it was past.[p17]  They knew the law was coming and were prepared. He wouldn�t or couldn�t say much more.

-          Clear and interesting, but what did YOU buy? What were your reactions?

-          This is fascinating! I think I�m going to CO for some anti-anxiety candy! J This is surreal to me!

-          Trails off at the end�.

-          This is informative and well-written. What is the purpose of the piece? You haven�t yet come to any conclusions � what are we supposed to make of all this? I�m sure the process of buying legal weed has been communicated. You should provide us more with your perspective as someone coming from the East who is visiting one of these places for the first time. Keep working on it � I�m intrigued!