Happy 420!!!

From those of you celebrating to those of you disgusted by the very thought, I bring you holiday greetings.

Those who know me personally, know which side of the marijuana debate I stand on. (It's not a mystery) So the last thing I'm going to do is sit here and give you testimony about how I feel, to make you change your mind on the subject... I don't care what anyone thinks of legal recreational marijuana. I don't have the interest, nor the desire to champion for any cause.

And that is not what this is about. 

This is about the culture of the place I live, and that I wont be living at for very much longer. 

This is about how the Marijuana culture has blended into everyday life in Colorado, to the point where seeing the stores, advertisements and other pot related businesses around town don't even phase me anymore.

Even if my opinions on marijuana were different, I'd still have to say I will miss seeing this every day. On every drive around town. Seeing advertisements in every printed piece produced about this town...

Unless you've lived in an area of legal weed, you have no idea how big it's become.

However, going back to live in a part of the country where public opinion isn't as supportive... Americans love to pound their chests and shout to the world about how they are the freest of the free, but when you can only access a very helpful medicine you may really need, but you can have access only if you live in a certain state... 

Well, that sure doesn't evoke images of freedom of freedomiest of the freedummier to me. 

But I'm not here to preach...

Quite simply, I take a lot of pictures while driving around town. Inevitable, I've ended up taking pictures of a bunch of MMJ businesses... So, to celebrate 420, I bring to you a selection of pictures of pro-Marijuana businesses around the state of Colorado. These places were not active target of mine, they just jumped in the way of my camera when I was out taking pictures of other things. 

Some of which are blatant, some of which are more subtle...

For example, this building houses one of the top medical marijuana businesses in Denver. It's simply a place where several licensed doctors have set up offices for people to get a quick and minimally evasive exam, to see if MMJ is appropriate to their conditions. Most Denver medical cards issued come from these offices.

Another thing you get in Denver, that you wont get in non-MMJ cities is the fact that you can be driving around, not paying attention to anything, and you'll suddenly smell a grow house. They can be anywhere. Residential area, industrial area, commercial... Doesn't matter. There is a grow house nearby, and you can smell it plain as day.

Weather you feel that is a good smell or a bad smell, is up to you... But you will notice it...

Starting off right here in Englewood, one of the first dispensaries in town opened in the old Hampden Building, on old Hampden Avenue. Old Frosted Leaf closed about two years ago. The space in the building hasn't yet been refilled.

Not all pot businesses that sprung up all over town are dispensaries and/or head shops. There's all sorts of Marijuana stuff out there that I'll never begin to understand... Nor do I care to...

Some places don't even bother to be cute or original with their name. You want pot, you go to the pot shop. Simple as that. Commerce doesn't always need a gimmick!

You don't even need to know how to spell! 

(Love the shoes hanging from the power lines!)

Some of my favorite angles of the marijuana industry in Denver is their conversion of existing abandoned buildings, into something useful. Old fast food buildings (such as this former Taco Bell) are often arranged in ways that don't lend themselves to a different use. Dispensaries and head shops aren't as layout dependent as say a mechanic or dry cleaners, so you find all sorts of buildings inexpensively repurposed for marijuana related sales.

Unfortunately, not all of them make the best use of what they are given...

Over the last decade, dispensaries popped up all over town. In Colorado, it's not unheard of for your neighbor to have a house filled, basement to attic, with growing plants. Or the house next door putting up a green cross sign in their yard, and declaring themselves a dispensary! 

Okay, it's not technically like that, and there are far more legalities involved than I'm over-simplifying here... But when you look at a picture like this one, you imagine that's how it is out here. And in places, it's not far from this. 

For the most part, legal marijuana operations are plentiful. But it's up to each city and town in the state to set their own laws for how they want to allow the distribution of marijuana, both medicinal and "recreational". Some communities have decided to not sell it altogether, which is their option. However, the laws of possession remain the same no matter where you live in the state. You can have up to an ounce of recreational marijuana regardless weather the city you live in allows it's sale. 

The laws allow you to keep/buy more if you have a medical card.

A couple of years ago, Laura and I took a needed vacation to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We didn't stay at this motel, but it is another in the increasing line of marijuana-friendly hotels popping up around the state.

With the tourism dollar always being a key driver to Colorado's economy, the legalization of marijuana is an additional cherry on that already 5,000 calorie sundae. While most hotels in the state stick to a strict no smoking policy, it only makes great business sense to go in the other direction: 

"Hey stoners... Go ski, go hike, go kayak.... Then come back to our hotel, blaze up, chill in the hot tub and sleep it off! We wont tell anybody!"

You'll never convince me that isn't a hell of a sales pitch to a viable market. And the numbers back that line of thinking up.

Within walking distance of the "420 Friendly" motel... Again, it's just smart business...

Green is the color to look for. Most companies choose other colors for marketing, so the green stands out. You can't dismiss the whole movement as Cheech & Chong imitation dumb ass stoners... There's some smart people driving these businesses...

Hell, driving around in a van wrapped in your head shop's colors and logo is forever free advertising once the initial investment is made... Even if that van is really butt ugly...

Though if you want to mix marijuana and art, 

please be better at it than whoever painted this Broncos salute...

How different cities deal with the marijuana laws are interesting. Tucked away in the Rocky Mountains is the small town of Idaho Springs. Just two exits off I-70 and that's all you get... I don't know how the town of Idaho Springs decided which way to legislate the sale of marijuana, but I do think it's telling that directly in front of the city limits sign, is a sign advertising recreational marijuana...

Denver itself has no such qualms. Dispensaries and head shops are everywhere, to the point where it's just like seeing cell phone shops and nail salons... Or chain porno stores next door... You know the guy on the far left is just waiting for some one to show up and open either store for him...

And course their frequency increases as you approach downtown, 

in some nicely renovated old buildings.

Some are subtle and almost hidden... Find the dispensary here!

While some are a little more obvious.

Speaking of renovating outdated businesses, here is Christal's. One of your more "family-friendly" adult shops... You know, hardcore with a softcore edge! These stores exist so women can look at lingerie and dildos, without being surrounded by creepy dude porn, which makes them uncomfortable. Predictably this business failed. This simply wasn't the neighborhood for that variety of snootery... 

So less than six months later, Christal's became...

Daddy Danks!

Yeah, that's fits this area a whole lot better...

I've already talked about this former McDonalds turned dispensary. But here's a better picture of it. 

Bad font choice Bomb... I thought for a moment that you were a Hero Shop...

Tucked away from the freeway, I've never bothered to figure out how to get around this barricade. 

I'm sure convenience isn't a selling point to their customers...

This awesome motel sign was just a decoy. There's no motel here anymore. 

I don't see Amy's Fine Auto Detailing around either... 

But you know what is here? 

The Pig N' Whistle dispensary, that's who! 

Several miles away, and closer to my stomping grounds is the Walking Raven.

Who have been around long enough to do a re-branding!

The store's makeover included adding a drop-in stoner to loiter in the early morning hours. 

That's dedication!

Sometimes you have to question what you see, when it comes to making sense of the pot culture of Colorado. A store (made of brick and mortar), that sells weed, is called Trees. I bet at some point that made sense to someone. I'll also bet it was around 3 in the morning, and they were watching cartoons with their friends, giggling...

At least Trees put some green into renovating what was once this...

Sweet Leaf has a nice looking building, with the grey brick and weathered wood exterior.

While Nature's Kiss in Englewood has a really nice carved sign above their door.

Though back in 2015, they were missing a lamp. I'd assume this has been replaced by now, but I'm really not sure, now that I think about it...

Around town you'll find old buildings that actually survived the waves of gentrification over the years. Kind Love has obviously seen a lot of stuff go down in east Denver, from it's perch on a hill at the north edge of Glendale. Good to see places like this still serving a purpose. 

Of course, they're not always successful...

But the pot industry is huge money out here. Some of them operate out of large buildings, and grow some inventory right on site.

Successful Dispensaries end up franchising, creating brand identities and brand loyalties, just as any other product would. Customers build up an allegiance with the various dispensaries, by signing up to allow them to "grow for your supply." When you register your med card with your chosen dispensary, they are allowed to grow X amount of plants in your name. 

Roughly that was how it worked when Colorado was a Medical Marijuana only state. I've not followed the different laws for Recreational, since that was legalized. 

Other dispensaries are tiny storefronts in strip malls...

Broadway Avenue in Denver (north of Yale, leading up to I-25), has been unofficially named The Green Mile, Due to the large number of marijuana businesses that operate on every block. Many of these businesses have taken over spaces previously operated by antique stores. Which has angered the longtime owners of antique shops, because the marijuana industry is taking over their turf. The Green Mile used to be known as Denver's Antique Row. The Denver Post printed a story about this a few years back.

The concept of a turf war between antique collectors and stoners amuses me to no end!

Keep picturing a bunch of 55+ Seniors marching up Broadway, armed with rusty muskets and cannons, with no opposition because they're all at home watching Adult Swim...

The blocks east of the north end of The Green Mile sits The Herbal Cure (aka: Robert Smith's all vegan side project), which features an old Santa Fe Railroad Caboose in it's parking lot. The Caboose has been here longer than the dispensary, but I know nothing of it's back story.

About three years ago, the caboose was painted to better reflect The Herbal Cure's new album... of great cannabis infused products!

Here's a less blurry picture of the Pot Caboose from the north.

I don't think they've been sued over that name...

But these guys might be... 

Along I-70, just north of Denver sits the Mr. Nice Guys dispensary. Using a similar smiley face over a pot leaf for a logo, that was used in the movie Half Baked. The logo has been altered enough so they likely wont get sued over it, but still similar enough to likely fool people into thinking there's some sort of tie-in...

Back to the movie Half Baked... About 20 years ago, I asked my friend and co-worker Bob what he thought of the movie. I thought it was okay, but it was more up his alley than mine. He said it was a good movie with a terrible ending. Great up until the last 5 minutes. He went on to explain, that if you had been a pot smoker your entire adult life, and some woman shows up and gives you the "weed or me" ultimatum, choosing the woman is unrealistic and a recipe for disaster. You'll always resent the woman for making you scrub something from your personality in order to conform to her whims.

Even if she is named Mary Jane...

Pretty sure Bob is a reader of Four Baggers, so if I misrepresented your opinion of Half Baked, I apologize. But after you explained your take on one of the most famous stoner comedy movies, I saw it a different way...

Now I don't like that movie either.

Over the last five years, close to $40 million dollars have been spent on improving south Broadway, which includes much of The Green Mile. Which meant doing even more than adding old-timey street lights along both sides. New businesses that opened could create something like this. A very simple and understated facade, classic font for signage, and a great throwback vertical marquee. Despite selling weed, this storefront could easily exist 75 years ago.

The southern end of The Green Mile has loosely adopted the moniker of "Broadsterdam" (which can be seen on the Nature's Kiss sign). This shop about 20 blocks to the north of nature's Kiss goes by the name New Broadsterdam. 

The Green Depot has a decidedly blue tint thanks to shooting the picture into the sunrise. Also, I didn't feel it was worth my effort to clean it up.

Some dispensaries are smaller than a trailer home. The Little Green Pharmacy is really hard to get a decent drive-by photo, given it's nearly hidden location. Also, I didn't feel it was worth my effort to park and walk up to it for a better picture.

While Brad and I were putting the My Buddie pilot episode together, Buddy Boy dispensary opened not far from where we worked. Had that entire project not went over like a lead turd, we were hoping to work out sponsorship deals with local dispensaries, in exchange for advertising. Said money collected would have been invested in continuing to make more episodes... 

We had a full 26 episode season planned out, and could have been ready to go almost immediately if we needed to condense to 13 episodes...

Oh, and the merchandising we had planned for that logo!

Official My Buddie T-Shirts of course!

Official My Buddie Ashtrays!

Official My Buddie Coffee Mugs!

Official My Buddie Bumper Stickers!

Official My Buddie Drink Coasters!

Official My Buddie Mini-Buttons!

Six of these mini-buttons were actually made. I have one of the prototypes!

Official My Buddie Cell Phone Cases!

Official My Buddie Frisbees!

Official My Buddie Socks!

Official My Buddie Shower Curtains!

Official My Buddie Bikini Tops!

Official My Buddie Bikini Bottoms!

I really like that last picture...

I'm going to look at it for a little while longer...

Yup...

The world will never know where My Buddie was poised to go...

It debut on YouTube one year ago today to zero promotion and zero fanfare. 

Which is really sad given all the effort that was put in on this project... 

Go watch My Buddie... 

Someone needs to...

Okay! Back to this... 

Uh... Hmmmm... 420... 

Uh... Home Sweet Home! Yeah!

Say Hi to Huong!

So now that weed is legal in Colorado, but still illegal to consume on public property, where is the best place where I can enjoy my now legal cannabis?

Here.

You go here.

******

So yeah, I'll be leaving all of this behind soon. Going back to the land of alcohol being the only drug/distraction of choice for the masses.

Though I thoroughly believe the pot culture tends to lean on the childish and downright embarrassing side most of the time, it's different enough from what I knew before that I'm going to miss the shit out of it once I'm gone.

Face it, I'm not going to see this painted on a retail store window in Coon Rapids any time soon...

Oh, and Jeff Sessions...

Suck it!