Marijuana sales in Cripple Creek continue gaining votes in favor

Breeanna Jent, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·2 min read
1

Nov. 11—As votes continued to be counted Friday, a ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana sales in Cripple Creek was still passing.

The question that would allow retail marijuana shops to open had picked up 14 more votes for it and 11 votes against it since Wednesday afternoon, according to unofficial returns. Unofficial voting results last posted on the Colorado secretary of state's website just after 5 p.m. Thursday showed the question that would allow retail marijuana shops to open was passing with 258 votes in favor and 180 against, or 58.9% to 41.1%.

The question was also tied to additional taxes and fees that must be approved for new shops to open. That question was also passing with 228 votes for and 207 against, or 52.4% to 47.6%, unofficial returns show.

Both initiatives were failing as of late Tuesday night, Election Day, but votes in favor of both initiatives took the lead Wednesday and remained throughout the week.

The Cripple Creek Casino Association backed the legalization of retail pot sales in Cripple Creek to help boost and diversify the city's revenue so it wouldn't have to rely so heavily on its casinos, Kyle Blakely, a spokesman for the campaign, has previously said. Cripple Creek's budget depends heavily on revenue from tourism and its casinos, and money from gaming device fees hasn't rebounded back to pre-pandemic levels, even though the City Council increased device fees in April.

Opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in Cripple Creek have said the city is too small to address the emergency, law enforcement and public health needs they say would follow if voters approved the measure.

If voters in the small gold-mining and casino community of around 1,200 residents approve the initiative, Cripple Creek would be the first Teller County municipality to allow marijuana sales.

Meanwhile, voters in Colorado Springs rejected recreational marijuana and Palmer Lake approved it, according to the latest unofficial results.