Business owners wonder how marijuana law will impact sales

BRECKENRIDGE - A new law decriminalizing the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in Breckenridge has many local business owners wondering how it's going to affect their shops.
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Many say it will attract tourists who wouldn't normally visit the mountain town and help boost their sales.

"We are very new and new to everything," Norma Rodriguez, who just opened a new shop on Main Street in Breckenridge, said.

Rodriguez is looking to attract as many new customers as possible, even if they're only visiting town to take advantage of Breckenridge's new ordinance.

"I think it's going to be a positive thing. I think if anything it should attract [more people]. Why would it push anyone away?" she asked.

The employees who work a few blocks away at the Breckenridge Apparel Company will give Rodriguez one reason.

"I believe, in the aspect of things, it's going to hurt the business. Just due to the nature of the tourists who visit us," John Creasy, an employee at the Breckenridge Apparel Company, said.

The folks who shop at Breckenridge Apparel Company are more "family-oriented" people, Creasy explained. People who tend to look down on marijuana use.

"They probably wouldn't approve of it too greatly. Most of the people we get here seem to be more conservative than the people who live here," Creasy said.

Most of the people who live and work in Breckenridge, though, seem to think it's a good thing.

"They're kind of pumped about it," Brian Henry, an employee at Godspeed Tattoo, said.

Many believe it will lure in people who wouldn't normally visit Breckenridge.

"I've definitely been hearing about it all around Denver, Colorado Springs and California even!" Henry said.

It's still too early to tell what effect it will have on the mountain town. For now, business owners and their employees are just hoping for the best.

The marijuana ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 1.