Breckenridge becomes haven for potheads... (are you suprised?)

Entire story-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33927239/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. - High-altitude partying is a deeply carved tradition in ski country, where alcohol in the open and illicit drugs in the shadows have been intertwined for years.

Even before last week’s town vote here that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, one of the best-selling T-shirts at Shirt and Ernie’s on Main Street winked at what it means to live and play 9,600 feet up in the Rockies.

“Dude,” the shirt says, “I think this whole town is high.”

This should prove to be an interesting social experiment. If the local LEO's do not enforce state and federal statutes, and if this escalates into major abuse or expands to others illegal substances, the fallout could be some of the most unwanted publicity the snow sports industry could ever dream of! 

What are your thoughts? 

BRB packing bags.

Not really, but you get the idea.

pot doesnt not cause people to try other stuff. and FYI this has been talked about already on this board

I hope its sets a libertarian precedent for other resort towns to follow and then eventually other towns, bigger cities, whole states, and eventually this whole morally updity country can get over themselves. Each year water kills more people than weed.

heck if you ate Mcdonalds everyday and smoked weed everyday I am almost sure the so called 'pot head" would live longer.

tobaccos is much more dangerous drug and yets it legal.

from a person who hasnt smoked on ounce of weed in thier life I am saying legalizing it is the best course of action there could be or will ever be.

1) I'm pretty sure the search function would reveal that this is not new news, nor a new discussion.

2) What does this have to do with skiing?

edit: and why would I care?

VSP, wasn't the first high speed quad at Vail the Vistabahn known locally as the Rastabahn and I also recall a bong tree?. I think there should be prosecution of prescription drug addicted political commentators, a far greater menace to society IMHO. OK, OK, lets prosecute all paid political commentators.

Potheads don't puke, piss and pass out in public and generally don't act like idiots. I think ignoring the toker and concentrating on other areas of controlling criminal behavior or public safety is a better use of law enforcement dollars. Have we learned nothing from Prohibition? I bet potheads are the only group that wouldn't mind being taxed if they could stroll to the local outlet to purchase the herb of their choice, We might even be able to fund universal health care or pay for the two wars we're fighting with the new tax revenue.

Do potheads offer a greater threat to the skiing public than the legally drinking skier just on the slopes after a few lunch time drinks? My guess is no and probably less so.

Hahaha
That must be true!  
The drug war kills more that the drugs themselves...
But anyway, as long as they keep selling cold beer, I am fine.

Well, EXCUSE ME!

I would have thought some of you MIGHT have actually read the article prior to posting your responses, but I guess that is expecting WAY too much!I am not taking a stand on anything other than the fact it contravenes Federal and State statutes, and could be held as an illegal rule.

My take is more about the reaction many could have to this new openess.If you noticed, I referred to the possible unwelcome publicity this may draw to Breck/Vail Resorts!

I'd read the article elsewhere.  Why would you think this would have any impact whatsoever on the ski resort?  Are you thinking some family might decide not to go there because their kids might see people openly smoking a joint or something?  I think they probably at least SMELL that already at ski resorts.  And even if it's "legal" from a local perspective, it's still illegal from a state perspective, so does it really mean you can walk down the street openly? 

Just because a few people say they've canceled or are going to cancel for that reason, I don't believe them.  They were going to cancel anyway and just added that reason because it was conveniently presented to them.  They needed an excuse to demand their deposit back.  This sounds like a better reason than "Janet discovered she doesn't fit in her ski pants, and I just blew a bunch of money on a new pickup."

Sorry VSP, I misunderstood your post. I thought you posted the entire article. I didn't learn of Vail lore from being there. I read about it in skiing magazines well over twenty years ago. Ski town=party town, I think most would agree be it a private party back in the condo or drinking and dancing into the night in town. I still think alcohol induces more rowdy, anti-family behavior than pot. Even the article confirms my opinion about skiing safety.

Sorry, I don't spend that much time on Epic anymore... not much worth reading. So I never saw Rick's previous thread. Just happened across the article on line this evening, and tossed it out.

Hate to say it, and many will not agree with me. But having survived the sex, drugs and rock n roll era of the ski industry, I can see where the current direction is not in the best interests of the future of ski resorts.

I will bet the incidence of Vail calling for random drug testing will go up. Otherwise they can/will be held liable if there is an incident. Do you think Vail Resorts corporate is going to just sit back and watch? Not even! They have far too much at stake to allow stoned lifties, patrollers, or instrs to be out on the hill.

Whats tough on the ski resort, is tough on the town!  Your call!

Weak.

Search function too confusing? 

I like it.

steamboat got 18"........ and they smoke pot there too :)

The "Times" article was the third time I read something on the topic.  It was fairly "off the mark" when it comes to the town and the ski area. 
Surely it's bad press for the area.  It's much like Vail Ric, where people can't separate the mountain from the town.  (Think parking fees here)  There is a very large population of mid-west / west "Bible toters" that head there on their weeks vacation that may make other plans.  They point they don't realize is that nothing has (or will) change.  The town has been that way for decades.

The ski area will increase enforcement within their boundary.  I would also expect to see stepped up patrols by State Police and Sheriff's departments, possibly with roadblocks, to pick up the slack and "send a clear message". 

The only thing that changes here is the BRECKENRIDGE POLICE department is no longer obligated to consider possession of small amounts of marijuana criminal. You can bet your boots that if there is an accident on the hill or on the road related to weed there will be charges.

I think the biggest change here is that uninformed customers may expect the town and ski area to become one big cloud of smoke.  I'm sure there were plenty of (good wholesome family type) customers who were right in the thick of it all these years on their family vacations and had no clue as to what surrounded them.  The question is, just how many people now won't head to Breckenridge because they think "it's about to become" a haven for pot heads, and how many dedicated "weed smokers" will head there because it's a great place to smoke.  I'd like to think both groups are smarter than that.

(like VSP, I survived 20 years of "the industry", it's parties and wild nights, many in Breck.  For those of you wondering, no, I don't partake, but won't worry about returning to Breck this season, because nothing has really changed.)

Wait - Breck is going to become a refuge for potheads? The sex drugs and rock & roll era of skiing has passed?

But yeah - you're right. I'm sure murder, rape and armed robbery will skyrocket doe to all the reefer junkies trying to get money to feed their addiction.

Hi,

I don't think it will have any effect on the public perception of skiing. If anything, most people probably view skiers as fit and healthy -- the granola chewing crowd,. The vast majority of people in the US have never skied anyways. Most people who care about the issue either way will probably just be view it as a local phenomenon and won't associate it with skiing, IMO. When most people think of skiing, they think Vail or Aspen -- they probably have never heard of Breckenridge, until now. They are likely to view it as a special situation, not a statement about Colorado resorts or skiers in general.

What this might do is attract more visits to Breckenridge by the younger crowd -- especially the 'Baggy Pants' crowd. Not because they all smoke weed, but because of the rebel status this brings to the town and resort. 

Also, I don't smoke weed and never have, but the non-skiers who will make judgements about skiers likely will be the types sitting on their rear in front of the TV in the winter, eating chips and providing plentiful noursihment for their beer belly.  I do not condone drug use but at least the weed smokers at Breckenridge will be out and about and are not likely to need a triple bypass by the age of 45.
   


Edited by MojoMan - 11/15/09 at 9:10am

This kind of publicity surely is better than when the gay and lesbian community was boycotting CO for unjust legislation. So far I haven't noticed any boycott Breck movements because we decriminalized (not legalized) marijuana apart from the angry ex-visitor that posted to the Summit Daily's site. Nor on the state level to boycott CO because of our medicinal marijuana laws.

I certainly would never go to a ski resort where pot was smoked.  And I can tell you no good will ever come of it.

LOL, I guess you've never been to a public ski area.  You forgot the after that statement.  But, on the serious side.  I would avoid taking my 6 year old to any venue where people don't at least try to hide it form general view.  I'd think they'd do that even if it was totally legal to smoke so other fiends wouldn't be trying to butt in to their session.

One thing here everyone is overlooking: The ordinance applies to City Limits, it's not something exclusive to the facility of Breckenridge.  On the back of any lift ticket in CO, you will find a statement that says skiing or riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not only illegal, in accordance with Colorado law, but it will get your ticket pulled. I don't think the resort will suddenly ammend this print to read, "...accept for marijuana, because it's now legal in city limits."

Why would they need to amend the the ticket? The law in Breck does not make being under the influence legal. Alcohol is legal and it is still illegal to ski under the influence of it.

I do not care if someones smokes pot. Does it tell me something about their character, yes. I have friends that smoke and they are good friends, are they someone I would trust to put my life in their hands probably not. The same could be said for my friends that have to get smashed every time they drink.

I think you may have hit on something that may come up in the future for Breckenridge. Most responcible parents aren't going to be spending their money on a weeks rental of a condo, food and lift tickets when their kids are exposed to open dope smoking on the streets and slopes of Breckenridge. Big tourist dollars will soon dwindle.

Vail Resorts will frown on that. There will be pressure on the local Law Enforcement to do something. Maybe not right away but it will happen. Me? It's not going to effect where I ski. I'm planning to ski Breck this year. I think we all have to wait and see what it's going to be like. It's all speculation. Might not be that bad who knows.

Fact, i'd rather be on the slopes with dope smokers than drunks.

Some areas are the opposite= zero tolerance, checking for odor as the gondolas arrive at the top.

Tahoe has unofficially been pretty loose all along, but it's not a problem usually, because, as you said, responsible skiers do not expose kids to anything their parents may not yet have had time to talk to them about.  never, it's a rule.

One odd thing did happen. There was this hidden alove on he edge of an open meeting area between restaurants and bars. people would retreat to there for a 4/20. once so many people were ducking in that a mother and 7 year old came down the corridor thinking it must be the way to the bathroom. that sucked, and is to be prevented.

I think you are extremely ignorant.

  This is so loaded it oughta be a troll. As one who lost a decade of my youth and not just a few friends to drugs, My attitude is let Colorado screw itself. ( Like naked skiing at Crested Butte- it attracts some, repels many...)  Some guy once lit up a big spliff right in front of the kids ski school door at Deer Valley at closing time. I found a Greenie (mountain host) and we got after him... he took off and disappeared into the crowd and that was fine, just get the hell out. Zero tolerance around kids, period. I'm not against it in it's place and in moderation (whatever that is), as long as I don't employ or depend on said persons. That's just talking from hard experience...
  I would like to see it legal, taxed and regulated if for no other reason than to stop all the killing along the drug supply chain. When we wuz kids back in hippy days, it was all some grand adventure and love drug. When I think of how much crime and innocent (or not so innocent) blood goes into every joint nowadays... well, I can't see how anyone can enjoy the buzz.
    Funny aside, when we had the Olympics here in 2002, teams of special forces in white camouflage were continually rousting stoner knuckleheads out of the woods.... 

Fact is, everyplace we ski, skate, surf, etc.. we're surrounded by people under the influence of various things, mostly pot  for younger folks and mostly booze for older folks  I'd be willing to bet that liftie at Vail  was high when this happened.



It isn't likely to be avoided/prevented anywhere unless they patrol the trails and back counttry with real cops.  All Beck has done is acknowledge what is already happening everywhere and always has been officially  Problem is, allowing it to happen in the open will detour families with young kids, and will likely result in a few more injuries and parking lot car accidents because a few morons will over do it when uninhibited.

 I don't know why this would deter families. I presume they all come from towns and cities where drug use is somewhat common. 

Me too. I don't ski under the influence of anything - just the skiing usually gets me plenty high. But I've known lots of guys who actually ski better after toking.I can't say the same for guys who booze.Mind you - I'm talking about skiing hike to and heavy traverse terrain - not bombing some groomer under the lift.

Your name and location would lead someone to believe that you live in Vail. You obviously don't because you would have heard about this much sooner, like when it happened.

and one more thing, vail blows so much that pot would be one thing that would help the front range beaters ski better.