Photo Credit:

[All photos courtesy of Todd Gardner]

For a long time, Pitkin County officials kept marijuana manufacturing facilities out of Aspen. That ends now.

According to the Aspen Times, the Pitkin County Commissioners voted unanimously last week to allow Todd Gardner of High Mountain Taxi to begin manufacturing Aspen-made, THC-infused beef jerky. The new edible is titled Cannabis Queen Jerky.

The unanimous vote came as a surprise to many, especially considering that 3 commissioners were almost decidedly against brining an edible manufacturing facility into the county. However, Cannabis Queen Jerky’s Gardner showed remarkable professionalism and thorough vision in his presentation, which included lawyers, consultants, and chemists. That extensive preparation and research seems to have impressed numerous commissioners and ultimately Gardner walked away with a year-long license to produce the product.

Related: Colorado Pot Sales Could Exceed $1 Billion This Year!

A longtime Aspen local, Gardner says the manufacturing space is a “state of the art production facility,” where employees will do everything from CO2 THC extraction to drying the jerky in-house. According to Gardner, he’s already put roughly $500,000 into the idea and the newly granted license is a move in the right direction. Gardner said he hopes production will begin, “within 30 days of today” and as of now he plans on distributing throughout Colorado.

ASpen
Downtown Aspen | Photo Credit: Daniel Case via Wikimedia Commons

The only roadblock?

An Aspen advisory group is currently reviewing the effects of edibles in the area. Depending on their findings, commissioners could revoke the license after a year. In the meantime, backpackers are going to start taking a lot more jerky breaks on the trail.

Cannabis Queen Jerky Info

  • 10mg of THC per slice of jerky
  • Buffalo meat sourced from South Dakota
  • Comes with an instructional card that shows how to enjoy edibles responsibly
  • Displays THC prominently on packaging
  • Utilizes child proof packaging

Unofficial Networks Newsletter

Get the latest snow and mountain lifestyle news and entertainment delivered to your inbox.

Hidden
Newsletters
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.