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Cox: Breckenridge OK with Drunktoberfest on Main Street, but pushes pot shops into ‘lava light district’

I’m a bit confused. As a Breckenridge resident, I watched this past weekend, as our historic Main Street was closed to facilitate excessive alcohol consumption, the involuntary hurling of little bits of kielbasa in random places throughout our town (apparently some form of alcoholic geocaching). While driving down Park Avenue, I had to stop suddenly for a “flock of drunken jack-wagons” who were staggering across the street a few hundred feet from an actual crosswalk (you know, the place where you’re supposed to cross the street!).

Now don’t get me wrong; I love my alcohol. In fact, I doubt you’ll be able to pry the bottle of Breckenridge bourbon from my cold, dead fingers after I die. And, I do not use marijuana. But what confuses me is that in a town that promotes the aforementioned Oktoberfest, the same town has decided to ban the sale of marijuana from Main Street. I’ve never seen marijuana users hurl chunks of Doritos throughout our town. Nor have I seen any marijuana users stumble out into on-coming traffic. So, if our town council is concerned about the reputation of Breckenridge, they should ban Oktoberfest from Main Street, not the sale of marijuana.

This is also an issue of fairness. Alcohol is sold up and down historic Main Street by numerous bars and restaurants. Alcohol, you’ll recall, was illegal from 1919 until 1933. And yet, it appears our town council has embraced this once illegal substance (oh, the horror!).



The attempt to create a “lava light district” on Airport Road is a symptom of denial. Marijuana is no longer illegal in Breckenridge. Approximately seventy percent of our residents voted to legalize marijuana. “Snow boardin’ dudes” and “shreddin’ Bettys” make up far less than seventy percent of our population; therefore, professionals of all stripes must have voted for the legalization of marijuana. Therefore, it’s time to place the sale of marijuana on the same footing as the sale of alcohol.

Steve Cox



Breckenridge


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