These days, cannabis shops aren’t novel, they’re just part of the business landscape

Hello, dear readers.

Pat Ferrier here.

Remember about a decade ago, when you couldn’t turn on late-night TV without hearing a joke about Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana? Almost all made some cheesy reference to Rocky Mountain “high,” and they weren’t talking about John Denver’s song.

When several out-of-state friends came to visit around that time, they asked if they could go to a pot shop even though none of them were regular or even casual users. But it was new; it was novel.

Today, cannabis shops aren’t new or novel, they’re just part of the business landscape.

Unlike a lot of new industries, however, medical and recreational cannabis has been a cash cow for the state of Colorado and somewhat for the city of Fort Collins.

I hope you’ll take a look at my analysis of cannabis sales in Fort Collins more than a decade later. And, as always, thanks for reading the Coloradoan.

— Pat Ferrier, patferrier@coloradoan.com