Marijuana is displayed in glass canisters in glass cases around High Q in the Snowmass Village Mall. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
The three-county region of Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin encompasses 5,621 square miles, has a combined population of 133,000 residents, and is home to dozens of marijuana shops.
Those stores also combined for more than $66 million of Colorado’s record-breaking $2.2 billion in retail sales of marijuana in 2020, according to Colorado Department Revenue data.
Consumers of retail marijuana in Colorado are hit with a trio of taxes at the point of sale there’s a 2.9% state sales tax, a 15% marijuana retail sales tax (not applicable to medical pot), and a 15% excise tax. Some municipalities such as Snowmass Village, but not Aspen have additional taxes on cannabis. Snowmass voters passed a 5% sales tax on marijuana in November 2018.
Aspen Journalism
Lani Kitching waits for a patient to arrive for a COVID-19 test at the testing kiosk in the cellphone parking lot near Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. (Dan Bayer/Aspen Journalism)
Pitkin County has maintained a high COVID-19 community-testing capacity since Curative tests were discontinued last month, but the number of people trying to find out if they have the virus has come down from an early-January peak.
In a few weeks at the beginning of winter, the county went from having a low testing rate to boasting one of the highest in the state, thanks in part to the widespread use of free tests available without a doctor’s order, deployed through a partnership involving the state of Colorado, local officials and the San Dimas, Calif.-based company that made and processed the PCR tests.
Arlo Duncan, 4, left, Jeremy Duncan, Willa Duncan, 2, and Lyssa Duncan play in the snow outside of their home in Basalt Vista behind Basalt High School on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. The family of four moved into their home in September. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Jeremy Duncan, left, stands with his son Arlo, 4, wife Lyssa, and daughter Willa, 2, outside of their home in Basalt Vista on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
The third phase of construction is underway in the Basalt Vista neighborhood behind Basalt High School on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Jeremy and Lyssa Duncan were determined to figure out a way to settle in the Roaring Fork Valley despite the usual and formidable housing obstacles.
Collection Specialist for Aspen Covid Testing performs a test on co-owner Suzanna Lee in the center on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Aspen Covid Testing co-owners Suzanna Lee and Isaac Flanagan stand in the lobby of their testing center in Aspen on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Dr. Jason Hicks takes a blood sample to test Isaac Flanagan for COVID-19 antibodies in the lab at Aspen Covid Testing on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
The Aspen Covid Testing lab team works to process COVID-19 tests on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Aspen’s retail experience might mean to one person buying a fur coat and diamond earrings and to another a bag of pot and some powder skis. The pandemic, now nearly a year old, has spawned another type of specialty retailer downtown private testing sites for COVID-19.
Gov. Jared Polis’ recent announcement to start inoculating day care workers, teachers and others on the front lines of education is welcome news to the Aspen School District, but the vaccination supply chain poses a “huge stumbling block” to administer shots in a timely manner, according to Superintendent David Baugh.
Polis said Friday teachers would start receiving vaccinations Feb. 8 with the state reserving about one third of its supply for “all student-facing staff” in Colorado.
At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, however, Baugh cautioned the rate at which Pitkin County is receiving doses will prolong the vaccination process.
“If we can get 200 doses a week,” Baugh said of the supply Pitkin County receives, “we only get a third of those for teachers. It’s going to take awhile to get everybody fully inoculated.”