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How to Enjoy Recreational Marijuana in Colorado When Most Places Are Smoke-Free

Colorado Travel
by Katie Carroll Jan 21, 2014

My hotel room is non-smoking. So is every restaurant and bar in Colorado. So are the ski areas. Wait, what? I was promised pot tourism and legal marijuana!

Such might be the thoughts of every tourist who hits the Centennial State. Yes, you can smoke pot in the privacy of your own home, but what if you don’t have a home here? Quandary. You need a different way to enjoy Colorado’s legal marijuana, one that won’t incur you a $200 cleaning fee because you didn’t score one of the five smoking rooms at the Vail Holiday Inn (5% of the entire hotel). You need some recreational marijuana smoke-free options.

There are two ways to go: vaporizers and edibles.

Vaporizers

Vaporizers are the best alternative to lighting up. Pen vaporizers are discreet, easy to carry, and — most importantly — vaporizing marijuana is 95% smoke and carcinogen free. See, health benefits!

A vape pen will cost you around $100 for a quality product, but that’s still cheaper than a hotel room fine and a lift ticket. (Although there’s always the light bulb…) These are some of the best vape pens:

  • Open Vape — Colorado-based and readily available, folks. The kit uses separately sold cannabis oil cartridges, the atomizer has a special honey oil, and it comes with a lifetime warranty.
  • Pax by Ploom — Industry agrees this is a top of the line vape. Adjustable heat settings, barely 4″ long, and it comes with a wall charger. It’s basically a pot iPod.
  • AtmosRX — Won first place in The High Times Vaporizer Pen Buyer’s Guide. Junior options (a bit cheaper) for those who want a smaller pen and an advanced option for those who care just a bit more.
  • Reddit Pineapple Laser Launch Kit — In honor of the r/trees community on Reddit, Magic Flight presents this vaporizer that comes in three different types of finely polished wood. It’s also handmade in the USA — buy local.
  • Silver Surfer — If you’re an artiste as well as a viper, you might want to shell out for the surfer. The temperature adjustment knob is custom handblown glass with a matching (if you want) glass marble pick.
Edibles

If you just don’t want any part of inhaling, then you get to go gourmet. Marijuana edibles are the way to go — just stash them in your mini-fridge out of the tykes’ sight and partake when you get back from the hill.

  • Cheeba Chews — There’s a reason these chocolate taffys are a two-time Cannabis Cup winner. They are incredibly delicious and they give the THC plenty of TLC — they’re still made by hand.
  • Dixie Elixirs — The “future of cannabis,” they say. Pro tip: Any weed treat that sounds as epic as the Fountain of Youth is worth your money. Elixirs come in sarsaparilla, pomegranate, and other fruit flavors; they also make edibles.
  • Twirling Hippy — Bakery of sweets. Enough said. Go for the handmade chocolates, savory cashews, or the cheesecake cups — or order a 9″ cheesecake if it’s someone’s birthday. Just make sure when you get the munchies you don’t eat another one of these by accident.
  • CannaButter — For the bakers among you, don’t bother messing up sticks of butter while you try and find the perfect cannabis concoction. Pick up a tub of pre-made CannaButter and just get to the fun stuff.

Get more info on legal pot in Colorado, as well as the best activities and events across the Western US and Canada, at MountainHop.

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