Kevin Fisher: Use pot responsibly
Firstly, I would like to thank Kate Elkins, of the Grand Futures Prevention Coalition, for her well-considered, even-handed letter to the editor published Thursday. We at Rocky Mountain Remedies strongly share her organization’s goal to reduce youth abuse of substances, both legal and illegal.
In her missive, Ms. Elkins makes an important point that we wholeheartedly endorse. Namely, that parental involvement is the key factor to curbing youth drug use. In hindsight, my mother’s incessant inquiry that I so hated as a teen was instrumental in ensuring that I stayed on the straight-and-narrow.
Unfortunately, not all youths enjoy these levels of interrogation. And in these instances, I ask that our teachers, coaches, mentors, friends’ parents, employers or any adult who regularly interacts with youngsters, help to fill their free time with meaningful endeavors. We all know the “idle hands” adage, and these days the least of our concerns are those activities espoused by former Surgeon General Elders.
We at RMR take our responsibilities to our patients, customers and community-at-large very seriously. There is no room in our organization for individuals who disregard any rule or law regarding to cannabis, and particularly, as they apply to cannabis sales.
Recent Healthy Kids Colorado and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys show that those jurisdictions in Colorado that have allowed for the controlled sale of medicinal cannabis have seen reported youth marijuana usage rates either stabilize or drop. This is a trend that we very much want to see continue, and we will only be successful if we remain vigilant. To that end, if you are a patient or customer of ours and you are 50 years old and we ask to see your card/ID for the 15th time, I do apologize.
We also understand concerns as they pertain to the increased visibility of cannabis and its use by locals and tourists alike. As a main point of contact for newly initiated users of adult-use marijuana, we strive to provide our customers with the tools and information they need to consume our product in a manner that is lawful and considerate of private-property owners’ rights. Literature is made readily available at our shops, and our provisioning staff is well trained in cannabis law.
The owners and employees of RMR all are residents of the Yampa Valley. As our community’s fortunes go, so go ours. We staunchly believe that the wide spread criminalization of adults who chose to use a substance more benign than even caffeine was one of the great civil rights tragedies of the past century.
We also believe that it is largely our responsibility, as the visible entity of a new age, to judiciously implement our renewed freedoms. Please, always feel free to contact us with any concerns you may have about our particular business or cannabis in general, and you can be assured of an engaged audience.
Kevin Fisher
Steamboat Springs
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