COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Starting in October, people in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be able to go to the same place to fill up their vehicles and purchase medical marijuana. Native Roots, a Denver-based company, is set to open up two Gas & Grass locations.
"It's really just kind of pairing the convenience in one specific stop," company spokesperson Tia Mattson told KOAA.
She said the dispensary will have its own entrance and must follow all the same rules and restrictions that apply to all other medical marijuana stores in Colorado.
The gas station, like all gas stations, will be open to the public.
"I believe we'll have lottery tickets, beverages, cigarettes and similar things that you would pick up in a convenience store," Mattson said.
“You’re not allowed to smoke in our centers ever,” Native Roots spokesperson Dave Cuesta, reacting to criticism of the concept, told KXRM in a separate report. “That is a state law, local law. There’s many, many rules and regulations that prohibit any onsite consumption.”
Native Roots has 11 medical marijuana dispensaries and retail marijuana stores statewide. The store have a uniform look with common merchandise and pricing structures. In addition to marijuana products, the stores also sell marijuana-themed shirts, hats and souvenirs.
Mattson said the gas station concept simply expands that other-than-cannabis business idea.
"We definitely are leaders and we're visionaries," she said. "It's just one more thing for us to pair up the shopping and convenience of gas with a stop for somebody who is a patient, to knock off both errands at one time."
Native Roots will offer loyalty discounts to their marijuana patients. Mattson said she envisions a process similar those used by grocery stores and warehouse retailers that have their own gas stations.
Click here to view the full KOAA report.
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