*Warning: this story may contain bad marijuana puns.*
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Will legal marijuana now lure skiers away from Utah?
Well, ABC 4 News is being told that question has now come up among state skiing officials.
Last week, Colorado voters approved a ballot initiative to make pot legal.
And almost as soon as they did, Utah ski types began wondering: will Colorado dope keep skiers off Utah slope-s.
It's no secret that Utah and Colorado have long argued which is a better ski joint.
Bud now, with the passage of legal pot in Colorado, the stakes may have gotten even higher.
Here’s our exchange with Nathan Rafferty of Ski Utah:
ABC 4: "Why would people come to Utah, when they now could go to Colorado and, maybe...
Rafferty: “Smoke dope?”
ABC 4: “Yeah."
Rafferty: “Well, that's a good question."
Skiing in Utah brings in 1.2 billion dollars to the state's economic pot and legally rolling a fatty in Colorado - at least in theory - could steal some green from our state.
But Utah ski and tourism executives say attracting bongers isn't the business they are after.
David Williams of the Utah Office of Tourism told us,
“I don't think that's an issue. We are targeting our campaign at families."
Families, we were told, want ski resorts that are close and have runs with lots of powder.
In fact, says Rafferty, skiers and boarders who smoke might make Colorado a bad trip,
"You might find the reaction the opposite. You might find people come here because there aren't people smoking dope."
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