Reader: Wearing a Mask Is a Small Price to Pay When Buying Marijuana

Longtime Westword contributor and local comedian Byron Graham is working as a budtender these days, and “as a worker required to have a mask strapped to my sweaty face for eight hours a day, five days a week, I readily concede that wearing one sucks,” he wrote in “Dear Marijuana Dispensary Shoppers: Put On a Mask!”

But wear a mask he does, and under Colorado’s mandatory mask order, dispensary customers are supposed to sport facial coverings, too. Still, Graham noted, “While the vast majority of consumers are graciously willing to endure a few minutes of discomfort in exchange for continued access to legal weed, my store sees a minimum of three to four PPE scofflaws per day.”

Scofflaws who make things unpleasant not just for dispensary employees, but for customers, too, with their “bullshit excuses” and unbearable behavior. Some readers quickly seconded that. Says Joe:

Wearing a mask for a few minutes is a small price to pay for being able to buy legal marijuana.

Adds Syl: 

He makes a good point about people who say they can’t wear masks for health reasons. They shouldn’t be smoking then!

Comments Britt:

As a budtender, I’m sick of seeing groups of out-of-state people who are sick, maxing out their limit at multiple stores over three days.

Responds Kelly: 

Well, us Wyoming folks are sick of seeing every lake and campground full of Colorado license plates every weekend. Leaving heaps of trash, running generators all night and being disrespectful. So, it goes both ways.

Asks Nadine:

Why is this even an article in Colorado, with mandatory indoor mask use? Have the door security not allow entry. No ID, no mask, no entry. If the door person is complaining about taking the brunt of it from customers, he needs to take that up with his boss and get a raise. Good life lesson in negotiating.

Replies Amber:

Because not every dispensary is big enough to afford security or a door person. Some dispensaries are understaffed and extremely busy.

Advises Benjie:

Yo Westurd, anecdotes is not news. FN hacks!

Notes Scott:

“My store sees a minimum of three to four PPE scofflaws per day.”

What a complete pussy.

Pussy or not, Graham was reporting on what he sees every day from behind the counter – firsthand observations, not “anecdotes.”

What have you seen at Colorado’s dispensaries? What did you think of Graham’s piece? Post a comment or email your thoughts to editorial@westword.com.