Journalists at GOP debate in Boulder invited to tour the local marijuana industry

OPINION:

Rolling out the green carpet? Just in case they don’t have enough to do, journalists attending the third Republican debate in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday have been invited by the thriving local marijuana industry to pay a call on select retailers.

“Coming to the GOP Debate? Meet cannabis industry leaders and go behind the scenes at a local marijuana retail store,” advises the National Cannabis Industry Association which has organized an afternoon tour and meet-and-greet at a local dispensary which sells legal recreational and medicinal pot with such names as Permafrost, Trainwreck and Chunk Diesel.

“The upcoming debate will focus on jobs and the economy. Colorado’s legal, regulated cannabis businesses are on track to ring up more than $1 billion in sales in 2015 alone,” the association reasons, noting that 15,000 and 20,000 people are employed by the cannabis industry in the state.

“Marijuana policy came up during the Democratic debate in Nevada, where a law similar to Colorado’s is set to appear on next year’s ballot,” said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which has “graded all the presidential hopefuls in terms of their stand on legalization and related issues.

“It stands to reason that the subject will come up in Boulder, where the victor would be free to celebrate with marijuana instead of champagne,” he added.