The Grand County area used to be a hotbed for lettuce farming. The green, leafy vegetable thrived during the cool nights and sunny days. While the lettuce farms have largely left, a new kind of lettuce has come into town.

Great Divide Lettuce Colony is one of Grand County’s newest cannabis dispensaries. Neale Gibbons is the general manager for the Winter Park dispensary, and he’s incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

“Cannabis has always been in ski towns,” Gibbons said.

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The dispensary was granted its special use permit last summer and opened its doors for business earlier this year. The location might seem familiar to some, since it’s located in the same building where Winter Park Trading Company used to be.

Gibbons played a major role in transforming the space from a cozy second-hand sports apparel store into a storefront that is stylish, modern and down-to-earth.

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The dispensary also functions as an art gallery. There are crystals, gemstones and plenty of art work for sale.

“So we’re really trying to fill a few niches in the area because legally speaking you can only sell someone a certain amount of cannabis, but we can also provide them with other things that are a great little knick-knack to take home, coffee cups or even some cool crystals, birth stones, stuff like that,” Gibbons said.

Great Divide sources all of its product from Colorado producers, due to state regulations and law. One producer is even located on the other side of Berthoud Pass. Sofa King Medicinal is located in Dumont and creates high quality concentrates.

For Gibbons, the opportunities that cannabis offers are endless. He has consulted and worked on cultivating cannabis across the world and describes himself as “fortunate.” He knows a lot about the industry but has a way of making cannabis easy to understand.

He compares the indica and sativa strains to red and white wines for people who are new to the world of cannabis.

“Not every red grape is going to be a merlot or a shiraz, for example. So not every sativa is going to have the exact same characteristics,” Gibbons explained.

Some characteristics include bag appeal, aromatic aroma, flavonoids and other things.

Kate Hall is Great Divide Lettuce Colony’s store manager, and she said working at the store has been a wonderful experience so far. Hall said the store gets a healthy mix of locals and tourists.

She enjoys the blend of clients, adding that she gets to see familiar local faces while also meeting tourists who have an infectious “vacation” atmosphere around them.

More to cannabis than tie-dye shirts

Gibbons also hopes to change perspectives on cannabis.

“There is a lot of propensity to just assume (cannabis users) are going to be young, lazy and a bunch of stoners and tie-dyes and dreads. While we certainly love that aspect of our heritage and where our subculture of cannabis comes from, if you look at our general sales, the average consumer coming in here is 50 plus, and they either have a health issue that they’re coming in to seek relief for that traditional medicines weren’t able to provide for. Or they’re in the area and they’re curious, and they want to experience cannabis,” Gibbons explained.

Anyone who is curious about cannabis and walks into Great Divide Lettuce Colony is sure to walk out knowing a little more about the products.

During the interview with Gibbons, he would occasionally leave to assist with customers and could be heard answering any and all questions thrown at him. In this dispensary, there are no dumb questions.

Gibbons said he is looking forward to the chance to work with the town and give back to the community.

“It’s been a blessing. It puts a smile on my face every day when I think about coming to this beautiful building.”