3-hour rule, Elephant Revival & a cake in every glass

by Chris Aaland

By the time you read this, it will be legal in Colorado for adults 21 and older to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use. That’s because 65 percent of voters chose to honor Peter Tosh’s request to “Legalize It” in November 2012; Washington state voters did the same thing, but marijuana retail outlets won’t open there until later this year.

According to CNN, this will be a tax bonanza. Retail weed will have a 25 percent state tax added on top of the usual 2.9 percent state sales tax. Some communities are adding even more taxes. The additional tax revenue will amount to $67 million a year, with $27.5 million designated to build schools.

Elephant Revival plays the Sheridan Opera House, in Telluride, Fri.-Sat.,  Jan. 4-5

What’s this mean to those of us who fire up? First, if you’re 21 or older and live here, you can buy up to an ounce as long as you have a Colorado ID; out-of-staters can buy a quarter ounce. It doesn’t mean you can torch wherever you’d like, though. You can’t smoke in public, in the pot shop or other indoor businesses (see Colorado’s Clean Indoor Air Act). You can’t light up and be happy in public, which includes U.S. Forest Service land, National Parks and the like. You can burn on your own property or on private property in which you have permission. And don’t even think about smoking and driving. Marijuana DUIs will be given to any impaired driver whose blood shows more than five nanograms of active THC. That means if you consume a normal amount, you’ll be impaired for about three hours. Drinking and puffing, of course, compounds matters.

The Feds say they won’t challenge Colorado, but it remains illegal to possess, manufacture and sell weed per federal law. The punishment, though rarely doled out to recreational users, could be life in prison. However, the government assures us that they’ll focus on serious trafficking and keeping the drug away from children.

Want to buy a legal bag? According to the Denver Post, 24 Colorado businesses opened their doors for legal sales on New Year’s Day, with another 160 waiting approval. Most are in the Denver area, with a handful up in the hills. Breckenridge, Idaho Springs and Central City are also on board. In Southwest Colorado, you’ll have to trek up to Telluride to shop at the Green Room and Alpine Wellness.

If you’re shopping needs pull you into T-Ride, consider seeing live tunes in the form of Nederland-based Elephant Revival. More folk than jam, their environmental and social sensibilities appeal to the young neo-hippie crowd and older folkies alike. You had chances to catch them at the Animas City Theatre in the fall, at the Four Corners Folk Festival over Labor Day weekend and Telluride Bluegrass back in June. Along the way, they released the “It’s Alive” EP and their third full-length studio effort, “These Changing Skies” amid nonstop touring. They’ll play at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights at the Sheridan Opera House with the Shook Twins opening each show. Identical twins Katelyn and Laurie Shook layer acoustic instrumentation with ambient loops and vocal harmonies.

Not only is it the start of a new year, but the start of a new month. For the drinking class, that means another monthly firkin gets tapped at Steamworks. At 3 p.m. Friday, the largest brewery on 2nd Ave. uncorks a decadent brew for the depths of winter – German Chocolate Stout. “As we were filling the vessel, the aromas that were coming off made me think of German chocolate cake,” said brewmaster Ken Martin. Based in Steamworks’ Backside Stout, which already features hints of chocolate, Martin tossed some shaved coconut in the oven, then flamed it in a pan with some spiced black rum and brown sugar and added that to the cask to ferment.

Also of note: Jack Ellis performs at the Derailed Pour House from 7-11 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Jan. 2), while The Clods bring original acoustic jams and off-the-beaten-path covers to the Derailed at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

In honor of legalized recreational weed, this week’s Top Shelf lists are all about famous ganja tunes. Thanks to High Times for its Top 25 reefer songs:

1. Peter Tosh, “Legalize It,” 1976.

2. Bob Marley, “Kaya,” 1978.

3. Bob Dylan, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” 1966.

4. Black Sabbath, “Sweet Leaf,” 1971.

5. Rick James, “Mary Jane,” 1978.

6. Cab Calloway, “Reefer Man,” 1932.

7. Brewer & Shipley, “One Toke Over the Line,” 1971.

8. Musical Youth, “Pass the Dutchie,” 1982.

9. David Peel, “I Like Marijuana,” 1968.

10. New Riders of the Purple Sage, “Panama Red,” 1973.

11. Fraternity of Man, “Don’t Bogart Me,” aka “Don’t Bogart that Joint,” 1969.

12. Rita Marley, “One Draw,” 1981.

13. Cypress Hill, “Stoned Is the Way of the Walk,” 1991.

14. Leroy “Stuff” Smith, “If You’re a Viper,” 1937.

15. Black Uhuru, “Sinsemilla,” 1980.

16. Redman, “How to Roll a Blunt, 1992.

17. Dash Rip Rock, “(Let’s Go) Smoke Some Pot,” 1995.

18. Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen, “Seeds & Stems (Again),” 1971.

19. Steppenwolf, “Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam,” 1968.

20. Murphy’s Law, “Big Spliff,” 1990.

21. Louis Armstrong, “Muggies,” 1928.

22. Neil Young, “Roll another Number (For the Road),” 1975.

23. Toyes, “Smoke Two Joints,” 1991.

24. Tom Petty – You Don’t Know How It Feels,” 1994.

25. Traditional, “La Cucaracha.”

A Nice list, no doubt, but my Top Shelf list would substitute these 10:

1. Leftover Salmon, “Rise Up (Wake and Bake).

2. Snoop Dogg, “Gin & Juice,” 1994. The Gourds countrified it in 1996.

3. John Hartford & the Dillards, “Two Hits and the Joint Turned Brown,” 1977 (popularized in the last decade by the Yonder Mountain String Band).

4. Peter Rowan, “Free Mexican Air Force,” 1978.

5. New Riders of the Purple Sage, “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” 1973.

6. The Beatles, “I Am the Walrus,” 1967.

7. Ray Charles, “Let’s All Get Stoned,” 1964.

8. Muddy Waters, “Champagne & Reefer,” 1979.

9. George Baker Selection, “Little Green Bag,” 1969.

10. Ringo Starr, “The No No Song,” 1974. Hoyt Axton wrote it, and I prefer his version cut a few years later with Cheech & Chong.

Where the ghost of Zapata flies a ship that can still outrun the wind? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.