It’s been 525 days since the City of Cortez forced a local medical marijuana dispensary to close. It’s scheduled to reopen today.
Because of numerous code violations, city officials shut down the Medicine Man marijuana dispensary at 310 E. Main St. on July 19, 2013. Saying the structure was unsafe for human occupancy, officials barred continued medical marijuana sales until a certificate of occupancy was obtained.
Gilbert and Sherry Garcia passed final building inspections earlier this week, and planed to reopen on Friday, Dec. 26. The Garcias have owned and operated the dispensary since 2010.
“Being shut down was a real hardship,” said Sherry Garcia during a half-hour interview on Christmas Eve, “but I believe it was a blessing in disguise.”
“We’re excited,” she said. “We’re ready to rock ’n’ roll.”
Remodeling efforts at the dispensary took months. Utilizing electrical, mechanical and plumbing experts and employing the architectural firm that designed the new Montezuma-Cortez High School, the rehab of the building included separate entrances and restricted counters in order to operate an additional retail business at the medical dispensary.
The company hopes to receive final approval from the city to open retail operations as early as next month. The Garcias have obtained proper consent from state officials to expand into recreational sales.
“We want to provide the highest-quality, best-priced marijuana we can,” said Garcia.
The company’s 11 employees also endured economic hardship. Becca Bullock said she was forced to collect unemployment once the business closed before finally taking a lower paid position at an area fast food restaurant.
“Finding another job was hard,” she said.
Bullock said potential employers stereotyped her as a “druggie” after they learned she had worked in a marijuana shop.
“I’m ecstatic that we’re back open,” she added on Wednesday. “I cannot wait until Friday.”
Asked what kept the couple motivated, simple questions from customers asking, “When are you going to reopen,” was key, said Garcia.
“We leaned on our family and friends a lot,” she said. “Plus the people of Cortez that believed in us. That positive feedback from the locals that have supported us through all of this kept us moving forward.”
With the approval of the retail side, the company forecasts that the number of employees could likely triple. The Medicine Man currently has 10 employees.
“We’re going to create a lot more jobs,” said Garcia.
Potential employees are required to pass state and local background checks out of their own pocket. The state application fee is $150. The company, however, reimburses the fee for all new hires during the first six months of employment.
Before entering the marijuana industry, the Garcia family owned a local upholstery business. But revenues dipped once the Great Recession hit in 2008, forcing the couple to re-examine how to earn a living.
“Not that many people were coming in to get their sofas recovered,” said Garcia. “We had to find our next venture.”
Operational hours at Medicine Man are 9:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., seven days a week.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
