Weedgalized in Colorado

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEB 6, 2017

Welsh, a bartender in Frisco, Colo., sheds light on the "green rush" in this haphazard account of the first year of legalized marijuana in Colorado. Gleaned from Welsh's experience as a bartender, the book attempts to entertain and inform curious readers about the emerging cannabis industry primarily from the perspective of one ski town in "the heart of Colorado." It is most useful as a guide for Colorado tourists, detailing laws and customs from the first year, offering a dispensary list, and describing the different strains available at the moment. Welsh puts a strong focus on the business side of the phenomenon, speaking with "ganjapreneurs" running shops, consumption friendly lodgings, and culinary tours, illegal dealers whose income has dried up, and dispensary "budtenders" about their early experiences, and with individuals like Frank McDonald, the owner of the entire town of Stoner, Colo. Welsh's own inexperience as a consumer puts him at a remove from his subject and his retelling of other people's anecdotes often fall flat. He attempts original research by way of formulaic interviews with anonymous dealers that leave obvious questions unasked. It's an amateurish book on a popular subject. (BookLife)