Aurora's First Marijuana Shop Opens
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4/AP) - Aurora's first recreational marijuana store opened on Monday in a converted bank building that boasts built-in security.
Euflora, which has a downtown Denver location already, delayed opening by two weeks, as the company completed necessary renovations Aurora asked for, including parking lot and green space improvements.
"The fact that we were two weeks delayed was a little disappointing, but the fact that we're going to be the first to open is extremely exciting to us," owner Jamie Perino said. "There's just a lot of details that they're looking at."
The first of two expected Euflora stores in Aurora debuted at 10 a.m. on Monday in the 6200 block of South Gun Club Road. The company plans to open another Aurora location on South Buckley Road and East Quincy Avenue.
Perino said the company will staff 30 employees once its third store opens.
Aurora has granted licenses to 21 recreational marijuana dispensaries. The city has not yet added a local sales tax onto statewide sales and excise taxes of 27.9 percent. But Aurora voters will consider extra 2 percent local sales taxes on ballots next month.
Statewide, Colorado has more than 250 licensed recreational pot shoyyps.
Aurora didn't allow medical marijuana sales but has decided to allow recreational marijuana. Denver requires stores to close at 7 p.m., but Aurora allows stores to stay open until 10 p.m.
Perino said legal marijuana's impact on Colorado has been impressive.
"The taxes, and the revenue it's generating, when people start to see that, you may not agree with it, but it's amazing what it's doing," she said.
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