Cannabis on the mountain, why people don’t get in trouble for it

Skiing and cannabis have gone hand in hand for decades. There are countless smoke shacks and secret spots in every major ski area where skiers and snowboarders go for “safety meetings”. Up until 2014, the only people who were smoking on the mountain were locals or out-of-towners who managed to find “a guy”. On January 1, 2014, everything changed.

The day everything changed

On November 6, 2012, over 2 million people in Colorado stepped up to vote. On the ballot that year, was amendment 64. Amendment 64, if passed would allow for the recreational use of marijuana in the state of Colorado for adults over the age of 21. On that particular Tuesday, 55% of the voting population decided to check the box marked “yes” next to amendment 64; and just like that, recreational marijuana was passed in the state of Colorado. However, it is not that simple. Since cannabis is still federally illegal, the amendment has many regulations. The laws for public use of the drug match the laws regarding public consumption of alcohol, which is illegal. The difference between the two though, is that you can put a bottle of alcohol in a paper bag and it is hidden; it is very difficult to hide the pungent aroma of burning cannabis. This is one of the regulations that makes it illegal to the state to smoke cannabis at a ski resort because it is a public area. Also, almost every ski resort in Colorado leased from the federal government making it federal land. This also makes cannabis use at ski areas illegal due to federal laws. These laws don’t stop many skiers from taking a “safety meeting” with their buddies every couple of runs.

Different views

Although it is illegal to smoke on the slopes, different mountains take different approaches to how they handle skiers who chose to use the substance on the mountain. At Arapahoe Basin for example, a skier who is caught will be asked to leave the mountain, they could have their pass pulled, and, depending on the severity, law enforcement may be called; which would cause a whole new set of problems for the user. Arapahoe Basin is one of the stricter mountains. At Wolf Creek, they take a different approach. They chose to let the federal officers handle most of the issues and only intervene when they need to. “”Our patrol’s job is not to bird-dog everybody when they smell marijuana,” said Wolf Creek CEO Davey Pitcher. He goes on to say “It’s their job to enforce it, not ours”, referring to the forest service officers. Winter Park resort takes a similar approach. “Ski patrol is not out looking for pot users; they are not law enforcement” says Steve Hulbert, Winter Park PR and communications manager. Most mountains, it seems, chose to look the other way when they can and leave the searches to the federal officers. In general, as long as people are being smart, they will not get in trouble. Safety officials (yellow jackets) at different mountains, in general, say that as long as you don’t smoke in the middle of a run or in line for a chairlift you’re fine. They also said that if somebody is clearly too high or is simply causing problems on the mountain, they will be questioned and likely escorted off the mountain. They say that this is more for skier’s safety than for legal reasons. They do the same thing if somebody is obviously too drunk to be on the mountains. In an interview, one Breckenridge ski instructor said that ski patrol should intervene when, “somebody gets in an accident or is obviously high or drunk they should be kicked off the hill, pulled their pass, they are no longer welcome”

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

The main unwritten rule of skiing is “be respectful”. In general, as long as you are respectful to other skiers and riders, you will not have any problems on the mountain. The same can be said for cannabis use. Everybody goes to the mountains for the same purpose, to have fun and enjoy everything that nature has to offer. For some, that means playing music while hiking, or for others, dipping into the woods mid run to smoke some marijuana. Again, this is nothing new. I interviewed two current DU students, both said that they smoke marijuana almost every time they ski. In my interview with the ski instructor, he told me that when he went skiing with his friends in the 80’s, they did the same thing. Everyone abides by the respect rule. Skiers in general, are not very afraid of getting caught smoking because they believe that they are being respectful. One University of Denver student said, “I’m not afraid of getting caught, but you have to have situational awareness when smoking on the mountain”. This caution is backed up by a ski patrolman at Wolf Creek who said that “as long as you are being discreet and smart we will not hunt you down”

The fall of Leo’s

Skiing creates a bond between people. Whether it is because everyone is simply happy when they are skiing, or because they are all like-minded people, skiers all tend to get along (especially when the snow is good). There is a similar bond within the marijuana community. When an outsider comes into a community, and does something very destructive to that community, the community will react poorly. Inside Edition, a not so credible news source, successfully angered the crossover community in one story. On almost every mountain, there are smoke shacks. Possibly the most famous smoke shack was at Breckenridge. This smoke shack was two stories tall, had windows and benches and, if you went at the right time of year, there was a bong that lived there. This skier/ stoner heaven was called Leo’s smoke shack. Inside Edition made a short video about Leo’s which went viral. The video depicted people smoking inside the shack, then trying to snowboard. The people featured in the video were falling everywhere and were not portraying proper mountain safety. The Inside Edition video led to Breckenridge Ski Patrol bombing Leo’s. Both the video and bombing greatly angered the community. The community immediately sent letters and messages to Inside Edition telling them to never come back to Breckenridge, and even some threatening messages. They felt as though they had been attacked by an outsider, and the attack had landed. A sanctuary had been destroyed.

The number one rule of the mountain

There is one overarching rule to abide on the mountain. If you follow the rule, you will have a fun time while allowing others to have a fun time one the mountain. Both recreational skiers and those who run the mountain follow the rule. That rule is, respect the mountain and those who use it alongside you.

Sources

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24420837/colorado-ski-slopes-differ-marijuana-tolerance

http://www.elevationoutdoors.com/legal-weed/

http://data.denverpost.com/election/results/amendment/2012/64-legalize-marijuana/

Interview with 2 anonymous University of Denver students

Interview with 1 anonymous Breckenridge ski instructor