"Let me just start by saying I would not have replied/responded to this blog if my name was not mentioned repeatedly. I do not appreciate the wrong acquisitions about my medical side being closed because of inventory issues, or that we do not supply the community with the proper medications that they need and demand. I have a hard time understanding how everybody, especially growers, thinks that all of the dispensaries are just making money hand over fist just raping our customers and that they can do it better for cheaper."
I apologize for guessing on why the license was lost, I didnt have enough facts to make that statement, i only thought based on how difficult ive seen the inventories to track in the past- and it has been a while since i was GM at a dispensary. But back then, it was only medical and the software was still very faulty. I only meant that it was most probably because of this, not any fault of you or your staff. I constantly battled with keeping staff from making mistakes in the inventory and thus the inventory straight. I apologize for making a poor assumption. There are many dispensaries that are able to offer much more affordable products to the consumer, though i understand that this is because they do more volume, the cost of production is only a fraction of what you are charging. I have talked to a lot of people in the area that are driving to denver because of the significant savings.
" If that was the case, we would be doing it and charging the customers less. The medical side of my business was never closed, I was audited by the state and did just fine. I did not fill out some paperwork with the county that did not exist at the time, and had to go through all of my licensing process again like I was a new business, and let me also say that I had ZERO people come out to speak against me or my business. My Recreational side was closed for thirty days. I wish you would have come in to introduce yourself and get the true story before posting about my business to benefit yourself."
Again, very sorry. I was not trying to speak poorly of your store, only the difficulty of the tracking system and why I will not be offering medical at this time.
"I believe that you came into my store today asking our budtender about the strongest CBD items that we have, I also believe that you were shown at least four to choose from. We carry CBD products, from patches and oils, to topicals and edibles, and we have done so for years now. To be quite honest, if you type CBD into Amazon.com, literally twenty pages come up, which can all be at your doorstep within 48 hours. CBD items are not hard to come by and they are legal across the entire United states which makes them legal to ship under the U.S. Hemp Laws."
If you notice an above post, i have apologized for not having up to date info on CBD availablity in the city. The market is very fast paced. That was not me in your store. I should have come and said hi, and I will as soon as the hearing is over. Since I got notice of the hearing ive been running around petitioning and getting support. Though CBD is available in its pure form, many people will still want an extraction from a local source thats organic. I just found that you can get CBD through the mail. Most of the time though THC is required to activate and work with the CBD. People should have a variety of THC/CBD ratios depending on what they want it for. There is a lot of value to being able to see the lab results from the plant that was grown locally and have choice as to how much of each component they want. I do think the CBD market is too expensive now. I do understand there is a large loss from having it processed and the tax is large but I can bring the cost down to the end consumer by growing the plant myself. I think there are a lot of people that can use CBD but dont even know it, so i will be educating the public as much as i can. I am not an expert on CBD, but i am working on making contacts that i can refer people to. I plan on posting informational boards in the business. I appreciate you helping by offering CBD products. I will probably not be offering the same things, and this is why i believe together we can offer more to the community.
"I have been at this for about six years now with a storefront, have gone through all of the adapting rules and regulations with the state and the county, and I would not consider myself an expert. Who licenses a marijuana consultant? What makes you a consultant?"
Thats a good question, I think having a business that charges dispensaries to consult on how to design rooms and improve their grows, while being licensed as a KEY employee should qualify. I am humbled by your experience. Youve been here longer than i have been in CO and thats very impressive. I did not realize you were here so long. I saw the store a few years ago and thought it was a new addition. Much respect for opening when you did. The industry when it was young was very tough.
" How many of the household grows that you help set up and teach actually end up supporting the black market by illegal sales? When you set up all of these households, did you acquire the expertise of a licensed electrician and go through all of the inspection process? Mainly so the rest of us don't burn because of a house fire started by an overloaded grow light circuit."
I only helped people that wanted to grow for themselves, and usually people that couldnt afford to pay me for my time. I have a passion for growing, as do i helping people if i can. A lot of people cant afford the prices at dispensaries but with some used equipment and guidance they were able to provide for their needs, many times CBD which was at the time completely unavailable. As far as licensed electricians go, people i help are only growing for themselves so the power draw was small. In the few cases they wanted to use 240v to save electricity, they brought in a licensed electrician.
" Where does all of your funding come from? Can that be totally transparent? Being that you will have retail sales in this location, is the county requiring deceleration lanes to be provided? How will you go above and beyond with all of the state and county requirements? If this does pass, how long do you anticipate until you are open?"
Funding is transparent, i have a promissory note with simple interest. I have passed my state application already which investigates theses issues as you know. The deceleration lanes according to CDOT will be determined later if they are required. They determine this by traffic counts and customer counts. If it requires painting, the road is wide enough to easily modify this. I anticipate being open 10 months after being approved.
"Like you mentioned, you would like to be almost all CBD, but you will sell whatever people are requesting, that is exactly what I do. As the industry moves forward, and as more people are requesting more CBD products, we will bring them in. Literally, they are just a few clicks away.
I wish I had not seen my name on this blog, in the manner that it was, and I would not have had to stay up until midnight to type this out. I am biased, I know this. If you open it will affect my business, I am opposed to this. However, I am not a Hippocrate and do believe that you have every right to be in that location or any other location that you may get approved. When I started my shop, it was to better my family and the customers that I serve, I believe that you are exactly the same and how could I fault anybody for trying to better their lives. I also believe that Park County is getting fed up with pot and additional locations. Almost every week there are new applications being herd, some approved and some deneyed. There is a total of around 5,000 people in the immediate Bailey area, I think along with many others that one dispensary was enough, Happy Camper Cannabis is here with us now. Two dispensaries will survive just fine with each other, add one, two, three more, and we will all fail. That's just plain demographics. As far as the wholesale, the county sees nothing from that. There are people all across the state building 50,000 sq. ft. legal grows, I do not expand because how can one compete with that. They will control the price of the market and drive it down just by supply and demand where it will be cheaper to purchase the product. Its not my choice, its just the way the industry is moving... "
I appreciate your candor, i really am trying to help. Some people think dispensaries bring crime to the county, but i would argue that shops like ours regulate an industry that already exists. Its like prohibition days of alcahol. It was easier for a minor to get liquor when it was illigal than when it was regulated. This makes it safer, and harder for children to access. I agree that too many shops offering the same thing could split the profits, but i believe we all offer different things, and this is to the benefit of everyone involved. There are more liquor stores open in Bailey than rec stores, and most of them offer the same things. They still do fine. I also support lowering prices- not to gouge anyone or start a downward spiral, but just to save people from having to drive all the way to denver to shop. These customers are now leaving their county to buy elsewhere. The people that live in jeffco just go to denver as well. We do have a lot of support for this though. I would expect more support than most would anticipate. Again, i do apologize for assuming more than i knew and speaking about your business. I look forward to meeting you, and hope to be part of the community in a short time.