• RTD wants input on Boulder-Longmont bus. bit.ly/ DiagonalFlyerBW
Credit John Lehndorff
Courtesy: Matador Records
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JUNE 19, 2025
Volume 32, Number 44
PUBLISHER: Stewart Sallo
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle
ARTS EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray
REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Tyler Hickman
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Justin Criado, John Lehndorff, Evan W. Rowe, Dan Savage, Anna Segur
COVER: Courtesy of Benevolence Orchard & Gardens
SALES AND MARKETING
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING:
Kellie Robinson
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:
Simone Gonzalez, Austen Lopp
SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman
MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar
PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Chris Sawyer
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn
CIRCULATION TEAM:
Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer
BUSINESS OFFICE
BOOKKEEPER: Austen Lopp
FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo
As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.
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BOULDER TO RESIDENTS: ASSUME THE ALTERNATIVES
City’s transportation policy relies on wishful thinking, outdated U.S. policies
BY DR. EVAN W. ROWE
There is a classic academic joke about economists: A group is stranded on a desert island with canned food but no way to open it. While others suggest practical solutions, the economist humorously proposes to “assume a can opener.”
The joke highlights the often overly theoretical nature of economic modeling, where assumptions can solve problems in abstract terms without considering real-world feasibility. Without getting into the minutia of bad economic humor, the City of Boulder — in its pursuit of actual or perceived green alternatives — has pushed an agenda of limiting parking. It should more accurately be called “creating psychological transportation stress.”
Courtesy: City of Boulder
Presented by:
OPINION
PAY TO PARK
This has taken place in newer areas of town, specifically the Boulder Transit District near 30th and Pearl streets. Whatever the intent, the outcome is the creation of a high-stress, limited transportation district with monetized alternatives such as metered parking directly in front of apartments, expensive parking garages and limited parking space — even for residents.
My residential apartment complex has 45 units and 42 parking spots. Each unit is allowed one car, but the property manager either refuses or is incapable of dealing with their own parking lot. The city will not let up on metering the immediate perimeter. In typical bureaucratic fashion, both the city and the property manager pass the blame back and forth onto each other.
found by traveling back to around 2010, when national policy planners believed the U.S. and one of its junior partners (Germany) would lead the world in the green transition. However, by the mid2020s, China has leapfrogged American technology. It was a nonexistent player in the global auto industry in 2019 but is now the global leader in EVs and hybrids, with a similar story in solar and battery tech. Simultaneously, the fracking revolution turned the U.S. into a petrostate, leading in oil and natural gas production.
This has resulted in a reversal of the national green agenda. Thus, the new bipartisan consensus is that climate change will take a back seat to “national security.” While other factors contribute to this dynamic, it represents the central pivot in U.S. federal and foreign policy.
CARS FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE
Performance Lineup Supported by: Produced by:
Of course, there is always the grift of the green, i.e., the art of greenwashing an “eco-friendly” transit district, complete with buses that turn 30- to 40-minute commutes to Denver or Golden into two- to three-hour one-way trips. Alternatively, residents can offer tribute by paying the meter (once every three hours)… for the environment, of course!
A cynic might think this is just a money grab. If I’ve learned anything from the American foreign policy space, it’s that you can never be too cynical.
Much of the environmental rhetoric around this policy direction is rooted in a broader idea to restrict driving overall, i.e., the state initiatives to put citizens on a “road diet.” This is the transportation analogy of using tariffs to return manufacturing to the United States. Simply slapping up tariff walls will not miraculously bring back domestic industry. If Boulder wanted people to use transportation alternatives, they clearly needed to build out that transportation infrastructure first.
Meanwhile, the human subjects the city are experimenting on must figure out how and where to park every night while the city, Element Properties and property management do absolutely nothing to manage the situation.
Perhaps we can cut the Colorado ecological crowd some slack for trying to get out in front of a curve that seemed likely in the mid-2010s. But it’s now quite obvious that roads and vehicles will remain the dominant practical mode of transportation. Expecting the plebs to suck it up and turn 40-minute drives into multi-hour commutes is simple absurdity, especially in light of the national policy direction.
There is still hope for transportation alternatives in Boulder and Colorado more broadly, but they will likely need to come in the form of electric vehicles and hybrids. That will deal with the air quality problems, but the transportation alternatives must be rolled out before moving populations in.
Expecting people to flounder in high-transportation stress environments created by poor planning (or just bad forecasting) is only a solution for the people not living in the environment.
This makes sense since they are imposing this process on others, not living it out themselves. I’d love to see the members of the political class more broadly live by taking only the bus.
LOCAL DISCONNECT
The best-case argument for the alternative transportation vision can still be
Dr. Evan W. Rowe is an adjunct professor of International Relations at the Colorado School of Mines and an adjunct professor of Journalism at CU Boulder. His past and current research includes the U.S.-China trade and technology war, eSports and American foreign policy at large.
This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of Boulder Weekly.
2025 Experiments in Public Art Lecture Series: Molly Gambardella
Saturday, June 28, 2 to 3 p.m. and Sunday, June 29, 3 to 4 p.m. Boulder Public Library Main Branch, Canyon Theater, 1000 Canyon Blvd. Free and open to the public, all ages welcome!
Molly exhibits and receives commissions internationally, and is featured in publications such as Sculpture, Forbes and Suboart Magazine. Her work is in permanent collections at Maison Courvoisier in France, Yale University's Science Building in Connecticut, and in private collections across six different countries.
Molly Gambardella is an interdisciplinary artist based in Connecticut exploring the interplay among social, political and biological systems. Her practice often results in large-scale interactive works that create the conditions for collective experiences. She draws inspiration from organisms such as lichens, flowers and horseshoe crabs, which recurrently inform the narratives woven into her work.
In the studio, Molly repurposes small, discarded, or mass-produced items, challenging their intended purpose and conventional perceptions by reassessing the significance and impact of the mundane. Integrating elements like water, wind, light, time, and sound, her approach reflects the complex interplay between natural and artificial environments.
mollygambardella.com @mollygambardella
The Office of Arts and Culture presents an ongoing series of lectures and community workshops through the Experiments in Public Art program which serves as a city-wide laboratory expanding the potential of public art . Unlike a traditional public art commission, Experiments in Public Art projects are as much an experiment for the community as they are opportunities for artists to work within unconventional parameters
‘PAIN, FEAR, RESILIENCE, PRIDE’
Boulder’s Jewish community picks up the pieces after June 1 attack
SAFE SPACES
In the days following June 1, Boulder Police initially made “some changes to scheduling for our patrol officers to provide more coverage on the streets and in our communities,” said Boulder Police Deputy Chief of Operations Barry Hartkopp. At the Jewish Festival, SWAT teams were on the streets and snipers were on the roofs.
our city is important to us,” Hartkopp said. “It’s really critical that we ensure that all of our community members feel that they’re safe and they have the right to to have gatherings and to express themselves.”
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
“The thing is, life continues,” said Ruth Gelfarb, rabbi at Boulder’s Congregation Har Hashem.
And so it has. Mere weeks after a man threw Molotov cocktails at a crowd of people on Pearl Street Mall’s central block, life has settled back into its old rhythms for most Boulderites.
The Boulder County Courthouse opened two days after the June 1 attack on the building’s doorstep. Businesses say customers and crowds have come back. The demonstrators who were targeted have held two regularly scheduled walks advocating for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
But for the local Jewish community, the return to normalcy has been punctuated by varied and turbulent feelings, say Gelfarb and other leaders.
“Pain, fear, resilience, pride — everyone is in a different place, and every day a different emotion comes up for people,” said Jonathan Lev, executive director of the Boulder Jewish Community Center (JCC).
MOVING FORWARD
“Many more people” have come to Har Hashem’s religious services since June 1, according to Gelfarb. A similar surge in attendance happened at her New York synagogue after Sept. 11, 2001, she said, as the community rallied to grieve and comfort one another.
“Not to be alone in your pain is so important,” Gelfarb said. “No one can heal themselves alone.”
CU Hillel, the campus center for Jewish life, has spent the last two weeks reaching out to members of the student Jewish community and their families.
“The first thing I noticed was an outpouring of support, which was heartwarming to feel,” said Executive Director Elyana Funk. “I haven’t had a lot of parents reaching out and being worried… It’s been more like ‘What can we do to support? How are you moving forward as a community?’”
The Boulder Jewish Festival, held one week after the violence, was the best-attended ever, Lev said, drawing an estimated 15,000. Thousands marched with Run for Their Lives in the group’s first public event following the attack on its members, held during the Jewish Festival.
Lindsay Shaw, owner of Lindsay’s Boulder Deli, who is Jewish, attended the festival and said she’s also felt an outpouring of support. She is trying to balance those feelings of community solidarity with her ongoing fears and the responsibility she feels to rise above them.
“I can’t be scared of it. I started to get scared [at the festival], but then I was like, I’m letting them win,’ so I can’t even think about it that much,” she said. “I’m trying to serve good food in a clean environment and have great customer service. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m not trying to worry about who’s gonna walk in the door or what’s someone gonna do now on the mall.”
Police presence in the community has “since reduced that back down to a normal response, normal scheduling,” Hartkopp said, “but we still are planning ahead, trying to up staff where we can.”
“We are looking at all the events that are planned for the City of Boulder and evaluating them based upon information that we have, and taking steps to try to keep those events as safe as possible within our capability.”
The 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza have heightened threats to Jewish, Arab and Muslim people in Colorado. As of June 11, 2025, more than 1,200 Israelis and 55,104 Palestinians have been killed, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In 2024, 47 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in Colorado, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation — nearly triple the average number reported annually since 2008. In 2023, reported anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes spiked to 15, about half of which occurred after Oct. 7, though there’s no data linking the crimes as a response to the event.
This data only represents reported incidents. The 2021 National Crime Victimization Survey revealed 42% of hate crimes from 2005-2019 went unreported; 23% of victims said they didn’t report the crime because they believed the police could not or would not do anything to help.
Hartkopp said police “have not received any specific requests for enhanced security,” from the Muslim community, “nor are we aware of any reported threats to this community.”
The Islamic Center of Boulder and the CU Muslim Student Association did not respond to requests for comment.
“LGBTQ, Muslim community, the Jewish community — any community in
He said he was not aware of additional incidents or threats “tied directly” to the Pearl Street attack. “But what we’re seeing really is that concern and the fear in our community based upon what did take place.”
CU Hillel’s Funk said the organization was “already working on security enhancements” before the June 1 attack, but the violence only made it more important to the organization.
“I don’t know what the year will look like,” she said. “We will continue to provide safe spaces where Jews can come together and build community.”
‘IT’S HEAVY RIGHT NOW’
Amid rising tensions, CU Hillel recognized a need for mental health support for Jewish students on campus. In May, the organization began the application process for a grant to hire a wellness director, according to Funk.
“People are not OK, and students are not immune to that,” she said. “It’s heavy right now, obviously with this attack, but also the war and October 7, changed our Jewish community forever. So we are needing extra mental health support here, too.”
Denver nonprofit Jewish Family Services is providing one-on-one and group counseling sessions free of charge. Community Foundation of Boulder County and Denver-based Rose Community Foundation provided funding.
Lev and Gelfarb both recommended reaching out directly to Jewish friends and neighbors — to check in, offer a meal or share some small act of kindness — and to keep doing so far into the future.
“It really makes a difference when people reach out and send the love and send the support to people in the Jewish community,” Lev said. “That’s not just the week after, that’s next month.”
Kaylee Harter, Tyler Hickman and Shay Castle contributed reporting.
Attendees embrace before a community vigil at the Boulder Jewish Community Center in Boulder on June 4, 2025. Credit: Andy Cross, The Denver Post
MUSIC
SECOND SIGHT
Big Love Car Wash draws on Colorado roots and ‘stage telepathy’ for Gold Hill Inn debut
BY JUSTIN CRIADO
Hearing Sol Chase talk about how he and his bandmates first discovered they all possess the same sixth sense makes ESP sound plausible.
“The first time we all played together, we felt there was something special there,” the 27-year-old vocalist and mandolinist of bluegrass-obsessed Americana quartet Big Love Car Wash says of the newfound “stage telepathy.”
As a working musician in and around the Austin scene for the past decade, Chase is well-versed in the unspoken symmetry of artistic collaboration. That’s exactly what he, Everett Wren (vocals, fiddle, dobro, lap steel, guitar, percussion), David Rabinowicz (vocals, guitar, piano) and Taylor Turner (upright and electric bass) tapped into after he recruited the trio for a solo show back in 2022.
“We’ve all done pick-up gigs,” he says. “You play hundreds and hundreds of gigs with all different people, and every now and then something just really clicks, and you think the same thoughts.”
“When you find that, you want to hold onto it,” Chase, who also calls Ireland home for half of the year, continues. “It’s really special now that we don’t even live in the same place full-time, but we’re all so interested in playing together and seeing what’s going to happen when we get together, we make time for it.”
IN HARMONY
same thing: They needed to write a proper record.
Following three weeks last November at the legendary Arlyn Studios — a hallowed space that’s welcomed everyone from Meat Puppets to Merle Haggard since opening its doors in 1984 — the result is debut album Daydream, released independently earlier this month.
The quartet pulled from a cache of ideas in winnowing down the tracklist to the best 16. Naturally, Big Love Car Wash found themselves in harmony.
“The writing process was really fluid. We had a lot of song starts, given there are three songwriters in the band,” Chase says. “But one of my favorite things about this group is the trust we had for following an idea of someone else’s, maybe even if it was counter to
‘A HEART-FORWARD EXPERIENCE’
Bouncing between traditional bluegrass and jam, Daydream showcases Big Love Car Wash’s breezy style, particularly on tracks like “Dante,” “Silver Lining” and “21st Century Telegraph.”
After a short stint playing out under the Sol Chase Band banner, the found-family foursome evolved into the current incarnation of Big Love Car Wash. Soon after, the kindred spirits were all thinking the
what we initially thought. By the end of working through the full musical idea we’re often in agreement.”
Without a pre-conceived throughline, the songs are tied together by the themes of community-building and empathy, according to Chase, who also plays bouzouki. The grief-stricken mandolin jammer “Memorial” is a great example of that, he says.
“It’s a friend of yours who’s mourning the loss of their parents. You’re at the funeral and watching them go through this really difficult time,” Chase explains. “It immediately resonated with us. I hope it translates to folks in the way that it felt to us.”
Big Love Car Wash is now sharing Daydream on tour, their first time on the road under the moniker, featuring more than half a dozen Colorado shows — including a June 25 stop at Gold Hill Inn. It’s also a homecoming for Chase, who spent part of his childhood in Crested Butte and lived in Boulder for four years. He says the Rocky Mountain jamgrass runs deep. “I’d go to Telluride Bluegrass and RockyGrass every summer. I came up
in the Colorado scene,” he says. “That’s definitely my musical roots; the jamgrass and bluegrass scene on the Front Range and going to those festivals.”
“Interlude I: The Colorado Waltz” is a little tip of the hat to that. The name Big Love Car Wash is also an homage to Jeff Austin, the late founder of Nederland’s Yonder Mountain String Band.
“He described the experience of being at a show when the crowd’s just right and you got this energy interchange between performer and audience. They give you their attention and you use that to perform at your best, and then that brings the crowd up to meet you and it’s this positive feedback loop,” Chase says. “He described that, in his words, as ‘a big love car wash.’
“We feel that on stage very often, not only with the audience but also with the band itself, pushing each other to be better and feeling spurred on by the energy on stage,” he continues. “So we wanted to honor him. It just perfectly resonated with the experience we have with playing music, which is very much a heart-forward experience.”
ON THE BILL: Big Love Car Wash. 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. Free
Courtesy: Big Love Car Wash
Daydream by Big Love Car Wash was released independently June 6, 2025. Courtesy: Big Love Car Wash
GENIUS OF LOVE
BY JEZY J. GRAY
Something’s amiss on the cover of Glory, the seventh studio album from art-rock shapeshifter Perfume Genius. Framed in the middle of a wood-paneled suburban rec room strewn with extension cords, frontman Mike Hadreas lies in a crumpled heap: limbs twisted, belt undone, the line of a bronze spray tan peeking above the waist of his whiskered skinny jeans.
“It looks like it could be sensual, it could be mid-dance — but it also looks like I could be sick, or something’s wrong,” the Iowa-born songwriter tells Boulder Weekly on a recent video call from his home in Los Angeles. “Falling is stupid and silly, but it looks very serious, and everything about the cover had all those things at once. I felt connected to it, and it felt very personal, but there’s some absurdity. It felt like the record.”
This uncanny image welcomes listeners to Hadreas’ teetering world of confessional anthems, aching piano ballads and amped-up asskickers. Drawing much of its power from his kaleidoscopic approach to songcraft and style, the album opens with a writhing guitar groove (“It’s a Mirror”) driven by a paralyzing fear of outside contact: “What do I get out of being established? / I still run and hide when a man’s at the door.”
“The hardest things to share are the ones that make you feel like a baby,” he
says ahead of his June 21 show at Denver’s Gothic Theatre. “They’re usually really simple things: I’m scared You’re almost embarrassed to admit they’re problems. It feels like you should be dealing with more advanced ones. It doesn’t mean they’re uncomplicated, but they’re tender.”
‘A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS, PROBABLY FOREVER’
Tapping into the tenderness of his inner child, Hadreas hit a nerve. It’s nothing new for the celebrated recording artist whose delicate 2010 debut Learning and tearjerker follow-up Put Your Back
N 2 It explored the darker corners of his past to unpack heavy topics like addiction, domestic violence and the plight of gay men in America. But while those early offerings felt like healing exercises written from a distance, he says Glory was more of an open wound.
“I didn’t feel like I was on the other side of a lot of the things I was writing about. With the first couple records, I was zoomed out because I was on the other side. The records after that were like projections and dreams, and they had more desire and fantasy in a way that felt like looking to the future,” he says. “This one feels more messy and close to me still. Leaving that all intact helped me feel kind of graceful about all
these things that don’t really feel graceful.”
Those less-than-graceful feelings found an uneasy home on Glory, where Hadreas examines longtime struggles from a newfound vantage. From searching for wholeness in isolation (“Clean Heart”) to the gripping fear of death befalling a loved one (“Left for Tomorrow”) and the strange internal conflict of turning pain into art (“In a Row”), holding this deep-seated turmoil up to the light was a process that didn’t come easy.
“I felt kind of stuck, and being stuck feels really selfish sometimes. Because you’re not available to other people, and you’re doing the same thing over and over, thinking you’re gonna figure it out,” Hadreas, 43, says. “The older I get, the more I realize I’m not gonna just think my way out of all of this shit. I’m not going to be able to reckon with it fully, or have an answer. It’s just gonna be a bunch of questions, probably forever, and it’s hard to be OK with that.”
‘WE’RE ALL HERE TOGETHER’
fashion, the bare-bones piano ballad whips up big feelings without rising above a whisper: “Who am I to keep a smile from your face,” he sings in his lilting baritone. “If he’s an angel, he’s an angel, he’s an angel.”
“I had to keep leaving the studio because I was crying,” he says. “For as depressing and sad as everybody thinks my music is, I don’t usually feel like that when I’m doing it. But I think I just really want relief lately. I really want some catharsis. If my body gets any tiny pinhole into that, it just fully floods out.”
All that restless searching reflects Hadreas’ animating drive to mine new emotional and sonic territory with each release under the Perfume Genius banner. Returning to the studio last year with superstar producer Blake Mills — whose call sheet includes giants like Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple and Beck — he found himself ready to take another big swing.
“I put a lot of records out, so I’ve gone to a lot of places [musically] and tried a lot of things, and I never want to repeat myself,” he says. “I don’t go in with intentions before I’m writing. I want to just see what’s there and try to find the risky thing, which can look and sound a million different ways. It doesn’t always mean screaming because it’s so crazy or whatever. It can be quiet.”
Take the album’s Side A centerpiece “Me and Angel,” a hushed and quivering love song about Hadreas’ longtime romantic and creative partner Alan Wyffels. In classic Perfume Genius
Regardless of volume or velocity, the catharsis of Glory is larger than life — and now might be the time for that emotional release to come in the form of a queer love song. With the LGBTQ+ community under threat across the map, Hadreas hopes the open-hearted sincerity of his music can offer a lifeline in an uncertain world where the ground is shifting underfoot.
“Every day there’s something more horrifying. It feels like now you can’t trust anything. You can only trust the people you love and try to keep everyone safe,” he says. “At a show, we’re all here together, and I think we need that now. I’m just excited to be in a room with a bunch of gay people.”
Credit: Cody Critcheloe
Mike Hadreas on guts, ‘Glory’ and the healing power of queer community
Glory, the seventh studio album by Perfume Genius, was released March 28, 2025. Courtesy: Matador Records
ON THE BILL: Perfume Genius with urika’s bedroom. 9 p.m. Saturday, June 21, Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $42
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 20, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. Free
This community celebration is co-led by youth who will present on human rights, equity and migrant heritage through spoken word and visual art. With the goal of sparking dialogue across generations, organizers hope to “promote a culture of peace, compassion, and youth leadership through creative expression.”
THE SCIENCE OF ICE CREAM
3:30-4:15 p.m. Friday, June 20, WOW! Children’s Museum, 110 N. Harrison Ave., Lafayette. $12 ($10 for members)
Your kiddo will never complain about science class again after this sweet lesson in chemistry. Learn the art of liquids and solids (and turning liquids into solids) as you make ice cream alongside your little one. Hopefully they’ll be willing to share the finished result of your joint experiment
20
SUMMER SOLSTICE Q&A AND SOLAR TELESCOPE VIEWING
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 20, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. Free
Stare at the sun (safely) without burning your corneas on the longest day of the year with the help of Fiske Planetarium astronomer Anna Pesci. Learn all about our solar system’s light giver during a presentation, followed by a viewing session of the sun through a solar telescope.
20
BLUEGRASS CIDERJAM
5-7 p.m. Friday, June 20, St. Vrain Cidery, 350 Terry St., Suite 130 (down alleyway), Longmont. Free
Grab your fiddle or your banjo (or just your toe-tappin’ shoes) and pick on down to St. Vrain Cidery for a monthly laid-back bluegrass jam with a side of cider. The jam is open “for all levels and all lovers of playing and listening,” so don’t be shy.
20
PARIS IS BURNING
7-9 p.m. Friday, June 20, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. $15 ($12 for members)
Pride realness hits the runway during Longmont Museum’s special screening of the seminal LGBTQ+ documentary, Paris Is Burning. Exploring Harlem’s vibrant ‘80s drag ball scene through the lens of its predominantly Black and Latinx communities, the groundbreaking film by director Jennie Livingston remains a tentpole of queer cinema.
21
COOL GRASSES OF HEIL VALLEY RANCH
10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 21, Heil Valley Ranch, 1188 Geer Canyon Road, Boulder. Free
Big trees and beautiful flowers get all the love in the flora world. But real ones know grasses are where the action’s at. Join naturalists on a 1.5mile hike to learn about the native grass species of the foothills, how they bounce back from wildfire and how managing them can be used to prevent the next big blaze. Registration required: bit.ly/HeilValleyGrasses
Candi jenkins with derek dames ohl
Phish
with Salomé Songbird
21
SUMMER VIBES BIKE RALLY AND RUN FESTIVAL
7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21, Bohn Park, 199 2nd Ave., Lyons. Free (prices vary for participants)
What’s more Colorado-coded than a trail running, gravel biking, live music camp-out bash in the mountains? Add in a beer relay and you’ve got yourself a certified summer vibe fest. The first installation of this festival features an all-day lineup of adventure races and competitions with an afterparty at La Mariposa. Visit summervibesrally.com for entry fees and camping information.
21
MOTUS PLAYBACK THEATER: IMMIGRANT HERITAGE EDITION
10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 21, Heil Valley Ranch, 1188 Geer Canyon Road, Boulder. Free
“Whether your family journeyed here recently or long ago, we all carry stories of movement, resilience and change.” That’s the message of this night of improvisational theater celebrating immigrant heritage. The cast will bring your stories and memories to life through storytelling, movement and music. Don’t want to share a story? That’s OK, too: “Your presence builds community.”
21
HO’OMAU (PERPETUATE)
6-8 p.m. Saturday, June 21, Vance Brand Auditorium, 600 E. Mountain View Ave., Longmont. $40+
Hawaiian culture takes center stage at this concert honoring the legacy of Kumu Hula Randy Kaulana Chang. Showcasing four decades of the legendary musician’s teaching career, the two-hour show will feature hula and songs performed by his son, Joshua Kamuela Chang, alongside musicians Tinifuloa Grey and Anthony Stanley.
22
BARNYARD CRITTER DAY
9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21, Waneka Lake Park, 1600 Caria Drive, Lafayette. Free
Take your morning stroll with a side of history on this 1.2-mile guided walk with volunteers from Lafayette History Museum and Lafayette Open Space. You’ll learn about Waneka Lake’s storied past “of pioneers and power plants, wildlife and waterways, farming, families, and much more.” Ages 10 and up are welcome and registration is required: bit.ly/WanekaLakeStoriesBW
24
SUMMER KIDS FILM SERIES: FLOW
10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, June 24, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. $3 ($6 with popcorn and juice box)
A courageous cat teams up with a motley crew of critters to survive a catastrophic flood in this Academy Award-winning animated feature by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis, screening next Tuesday at the Longmont Museum as part of their Summer Kids Film Series. You and your littles are sure to love this singular, spellbinding movie BW film critic Michael J. Casey calls a “beautiful … story of community.”
26
CROCHET WATER BALLOON FIGHT
1-2 p.m. Thursday, June 26, George F. Reynolds Library, 3595 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder. Free
A summer pastime goes sustainable with crocheted water balloons handcrafted by community volunteers. Wading pools, freezer pops and water play are the perfect way to help your little one beat the heat and burn some energy while you watch from the shaded sidelines.
HELP WANTED
WorkInProgress, LLC seeks Sr. Copywriter in Boulder, CO. Req: Bachelor’s or equiv. in Advertising, Comm. or related and 3 yrs. exp. in ad copywriting, managing multiple projects/deadlines, and w/ MS Suite & Google Slides. Plus: wrote copy for 3 campaigns & participated in production & editing; dev. ideas & wrote scripts for 3 :30s or :60s radio ads; and, 1 yr. exp. w/ ad copy for quick-service restaurant, mobile or streaming/cable ind. May work from home several days/wk. Up to 10% domestic and int’l travel. Compensation: $112,632 to $125,000 per year plus medical, dental, vison, 401K, unlimited PTO, and discretionary annual bonus. Send resume to hr@ wipbdr.com Ref. job title.
LIVE MUSIC
THURSDAY, JUNE 19
HAZEL MILLER & THE COLLECTIVE. 7 p.m. Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. Free
GENEVA WITH WILDLOVE TIGRESS AND STATIONARY SHOP. 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12
BÉLA FLECK WITH EDMAR CASTENEDA AND ANTONIO SANCHEZ TRIO. 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $74
BIG SIGNAL WITH THE STANDALONES AND MOTEL FRUNZ. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $19
Oklahoma singer-songwriter Carter Sampson brings her country-fried brand of down-home Americana from the Southern Plains to the Front Range for a free June 21 show at Longs Peak Pub in Longmont. The celebrated roots musician performs on the heels of her latest studio album, Gold, out now via folk powerhouse Horton Records. See listing for details.
BECOMING BUFFETT. 7 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $21
CARTER SAMPSON. 8 p.m Longs Peak Pub, 600 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont. Free BW PICK OF THE WEEK
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS WITH DEER TICK AND THELMA AND THE SLEAZE. 7 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder. $40
JEFF & PAIGE. 5:30 p.m. Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Free
TUESDAY, JUNE 24
WALT DISCO WITH PLEASURE
PRINCE AND CHROMA LIPS. 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25
DJ DRAKE. 6 p.m. Dry Land Distillers, 519 Main St., Longmont. Free
MIKE LAMITOLA. 6 p.m. Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 461 Main St., Longmont. Free
THE EMMITT SISTERS WITH BLOOMURIAN, SAOIRSE JORDAN AND ROBIN LIEPMAN. 7:45 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $17
Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.
ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Aries writer Joseph Campbell was a world-renowned mythologist. His theories about the classic hero archetype have inspired many writers and filmmakers, including Star Wars creator George Lucas. As a young man, Campbell crafted the blueprint for his influential work during a five-year period when he lived in a rustic shack and read books for nine hours a day. He was supremely dedicated and focused. I recommend that you consider a similar foundation-building project, Aries. The coming months will be an excellent time for you to establish the groundwork for whatever it is you want to do for the rest of your long life.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): In Japan, komorebi refers to the dappled sunlight that streams through tree leaves. It names a subtle, ephemeral beauty that busy people might be oblivious to. Not you, I hope, Taurus! In the coming weeks, I invite you to draw on komorebi as an inspirational metaphor. Tune in to the soft illumination glimmering in the background. Be alert for flickers and flashes that reveal useful clues. Trust in the indirect path, the sideways glance, the half-remembered dream and the overheard conversation. Anything blatant and loud is probably not relevant to your interests. P.S. Be keen to notice what’s not being said.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): In Finnish folklore, the Sampo is a magic artifact that generates unending wealth and good fortune. Here’s the catch: It can’t be hoarded. Its power only works when shared, passed around or made communal. I believe you are close to acquiring a less potent but still wonderful equivalent of a Sampo, Gemini. It may be an idea, a project or a way of living that radiates generosity and sustainable joy. But remember that it doesn’t thrive in isolation. It’s not a treasure to be stored up and saved for later. Share the wealth.
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Tides don’t ask for permission. They ebb and flow in accordance with an ancient gravitational intelligence that obeys its own elegant laws. Entire ecosystems rely on their steady cyclical rhythms. You, too, harbor tidal forces, Cancerian. They are partially synced up with the earth’s rivers, lakes and seas, and are partially under the sway of your deep emotional power. It’s always crucial for you to be intimately aware of your tides’ flows and patterns, but even more than usual right now. I hope you will trust their timing and harness their tremendous energy.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Some jewelers practice an ancient Korean art called keum-boo, in which they fuse pure gold to silver by heat and pressure. The result is gold that seems to bloom from within silver’s body, not just be juxtaposed on top of it. Let’s make this your metaphor for the coming weeks, Leo. I believe you will have the skill to blend two beautiful and valuable things into an asset that has the beauty and value of both — plus an extra added synergy of valuable beauty. The only problem that could possibly derail your unprecedented accomplishment might be your worry that you don’t have the power to do that. Expunge that worry, please.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Some Indigenous cultures keep track of time not by clocks but by natural events: “the moon when the salmon return,” “the season when shadows shorten,” “the return of the rain birds.” I encourage you to try that approach, Virgo. Your customary rigor will benefit from blending with an influx of more intuitive choices. You will be wise to explore the joys of organic timing. So just for now, I invite you to tune out the relentless ticktock. Listen instead for the hush before a threshold cracks open. Meditate on the ancient Greek concept of kairos: the prime moment to act or a potential turning point that’s ripe for activation.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Botanists speak of “serotiny,” a plant’s ability to delay seed release until the environment is just right. Some pinecones, for instance, only open after a fire. What part of you has been patiently waiting, Libra? What latent brilliance has not been ready to emerge until now? The coming weeks will offer catalytic conditions — perhaps heat, perhaps disruption, perhaps joy — that will be exactly what’s needed to unleash the fertile potency. Have faith that your seeds will draw on their own wild intelligence.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): One of your superpowers is your skill at detecting what’s unfolding beneath the surfaces. It’s almost like you have X-ray vision. Your ability to detect hidden agendas, buried secrets and underground growth is profound. But in the coming weeks, I urge you to redirect your attention. You will generate good fortune for yourself if you turn your gaze to what lies at the horizon and just beyond. Can you sense the possibilities percolating at the edges of your known world? Can you sync up your intuitions with the future’s promises? Educated guesses will be indistinguishable from true prophecies.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Sagittariusborn Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) got a degree in law and economics and began a career teaching those subjects at the university level. But at age 30, he had a conversion experience. It was triggered when he saw a thrilling exhibit of French Impressionist painters and heard an enthralling opera by Richard Wagner. Soon he flung himself into a study of art, embarking on an influential career that spanned decades. I am predicting that you will encounter inspirations of that caliber, Sagittarius. They may not motivate you as drastically as Kandinsky’s provocations, but they could revitalize your life forever.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): The ancient Egyptians revered the River Nile’s annual flooding, which brought both disruption and renewal. It washed away old plant matter and debris and deposited fertile silt that nourished new growth. In the coming weeks, Capricorn, I suspect you will experience a metaphorical flood: a surge of new ideas, opportunities and feelings that temporarily unsettle your routines. Rather than focusing on the inconvenience, I suggest you celebrate the richness this influx will bring. The flow will ultimately uplift you, even if it seems messy at first.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Medieval stonemasons worked not just in service to the immediate structures they made. They imagined eternity, laying foundation blocks in cathedrals they knew they would never live to see completed. I think you are being invited to do similar work: soulful construction whose fruits may not ripen for a while. A provocative conversation you have soon may echo for years. A good habit you instill could become a key inheritance for your older self. So think long, wide and slow, dear Aquarius. Not everything must produce visible worth this season. Your prime offerings may be seeds for the future. Attend to them with reverence.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): In the frigid parts of planet Earth, some glaciers sing. As they shift and crack and melt, they emit tones: groans, pulses, crackles and whooshes. I believe your soul will have a similar inclination in the coming weeks, Pisces: to express mysterious music as it shifts and thaws. Some old logjam or stuck place is breaking open within you, and that’s a very good thing. Don’t ignore or neglect this momentous offering. And don’t try to translate it into logical words too quickly. What story does your trembling tell? Let the deep, restless movements of your psyche resound.
Q: Who makes the best bougie condoms that smell/ taste good and are still just as effective?
A: No one has ever managed to create a condom, bougie or otherwise, that tasted better than dick — and they’ve tried. But who knows? Someone might be out there working on a Tom-Holland-flavored condom right now.
SAVAGE LOVE
BY DAN SAVAGE
Q: What’s the best way to deal with your own jealousy?
A: By remembering that jealousy isn’t a character failing — so long as it’s not being weaponized to control and/ or terrorize, jealousy is a normal human emotion. Sometimes we can work through feelings of jealousy on our own, but at other times we need our partners to reassure us.
Q: I’m a woman who’s new to sending nudes. What do straight guys want when it comes to sexy pics?
A: Different straight guys want to see different things. If a straight guy asks you for pics and you feel safe sharing pics with that straight guy, ask him what he would like to see.
Q: I don’t have a foot fetish, but my honey does — no idea what they are looking for from me.
A: Your feet.
Q: Uncut male here. My penis is dry — any causes/remedies?
A: I don’t wanna encourage straight men to wash their penises less than they already do… but you may be washing your penis too often, or using too harsh a soap when you do. Also, what kind of laundry detergent are you using? Try some new, gentler soaps in the shower and the laundry, and lightly apply a moisturizer (no alcohol, no acids) to your penis after you get out of the shower.
Q: Let’s say you’re a big shooter and you’re in a dark room and you’re about to blow your load. Where do you blow it?
A: If you’re a big shooter and you’re getting close and your cock isn’t in
someone’s mouth or ass, you should — as a courtesy to others — point that thing at the floor, at the wall, or at yourself.
Q: Sharing sex toys — yay or nay?
A: Sex toys are expensive, landfills are overcrowded, and quality silicone sex toys can be dunked in a pot of boiling hot water or run through a dishwasher and sterilized.
Q: What should you eat if you want to be clean for a long, all-night bonkfest?
A: A dozen oysters a week in advance.
Q: I can squeeze out a gray/greenish liquid from my nipples. Is this normal?
A: Not unless you’re decomposing, in which case you have bigger problems than the goo leaking from your nipples.
Q: Poly here. How do I navigate having multiple partners I use the same honorific for?
A: My mom had five siblings, my dad had eight siblings — so the only way me and my siblings could let each other know which one of our aunts or uncles was coming for us was by including their first names with their honorifics: Aunt Peggy, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Linda, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Sue, Uncle Walter, Aunt Judy, etc. So, I don’t see why you couldn’t go with Boyfriend Bob, Girlfriend Carol, Boyfriend Ted and Girlfriend Alice.
Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan. Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
A ta ste of Japan in the heart of Colorado
cock tails
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Your guide to Boulder County’s farm stands
BY JOHN LEHNDORFF
Spending a Saturday morning visiting the farm stands dotting rural roads is like playing an immersive agricultural video game. As you hit more stands, you win by gathering the most greens, loaves and blooms to take home.
Boulder County is home to a genuine wealth of distinctive local farms offering a pastoral escape. These little agricultural oases often grow unusual, less common vegetable and flower varieties you won’t see at supermarkets. Some function as true neighborhood markets stocking locally raised meats, eggs, honey, breads and food products. They may be permanent buildings or simply a box by the side of the road. Signage and parking can be challenging.
The supply of greens, herbs, veggies and fruits are often limited each day. For the best selection of just-picked produce, arrive early. Bring your own shopping bags, but leave dogs at home and away from the chickens, ducks, horses and especially the llamas.
7TH GENERATION FARM
100 South 96th St., Louisville
Noon to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment This historic farm is home to a yearround stand that offers locally raised meats including beef and pork, as well as fresh produce, eggs and honey.
Farm hours expand during the fall for a pumpkin patch and hayrides.
ASPEN MOON FARM
7940 Hygiene Road, Hygiene
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday
The permanent stand at one of Boulder County’s larger farms offers a cornucopia of certified organically grown vegetables, flowers, berries, herbs and heirloom grains. Aspen Moon is a great source for diverse tomatoes and chiles, as well as kohlrabi, tatsoi, Swiss chard and Hakurei turnips. The farm also sells at the Saturday Boulder and Longmont farmers markets.
THE BEE HUGGER
12590 Ute Highway, Longmont
8 a.m. to dusk daily
The Bee Hugger is as much a family agricultural experience as a farm stand with pony and “unicorn” rides, farm animals, a picnic area, u-pick flower fields and a self-serve stand offering honey from the resident hives. The farm also hosts live music nights.
BENEVOLENCE ORCHARD & GARDENS
6712 Jay Road, Boulder
10 a.m. to dusk daily
When you see the Benevolence bus, turn into the driveway to check out a self-service stand loaded with vegeta-
bles, herbs, flowers and fruit grown on the farm. Many local fruit tree owners take classes from the resident orchard experts.
BIG ASH FARM
3151 95th St., Boulder
Daytime hours daily
The self-serve, honor-system roadside trailer offers eggs, veggies and a panoramic landscape.
BALTO FARMS AND BOULDER LAVENDER
7957 Arapahoe Road, Boulder
Daytime hours daily
A cool honor-system mini stand cart overlooking a field of lavender offers lavender, vegetables, eggs, honey and food products.
BUCKNER FAMILY RANCH
13790 E. I-25 Frontage Road, Unit D5, Longmont
2-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
The Longmont producer of the locally raised lamb, beef and pork served in many local restaurants holds a meat sale monthly at its Longmont warehouse (go to bucknerranch.com for dates). They’re also at the Lafayette Farmers Market every Sunday.
COOPERATIVE FARM STAND
9722 Empire Road, Louisville
3-7 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
This new stand at Herbiculture Project Hub offers produce, herbs, plants and local foods as well as garden tours.
CURE ORGANIC FARM
7416 Valmont Road, Boulder Noon to 5 p.m. daily
This busy farm stand is jammed with organically grown vegetables, lettuces, diverse herbs and a palette of bright flowers. The shelves are stocked with food from some of the state’s best fruit growers, ranchers and food makers.
GRANDMA’S FARM PRODUCE
11596 Weld County Road 1, Longmont Daylight hours daily
This self-serve shack on an old family farm is packed with Colorado veggies, fruit, meat, baked goods and preserves.
GROWING GARDENS
1630 Hawthorn Ave., Boulder
3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
The Growing Gardens farmstand is only open one day a week, but the farm is busy every day with gardening classes and kids’ camps.
JACOB SPRINGS FARM STORE
7602 Arapahoe Road, Boulder
Self-service stand open daily for members Jacob Springs is a membership-based ($10/month) farmstand offering dairy products (milk, yogurt, butter), meats (lamb, beef, pork, chicken), heirloom grains, baked goods and prepared foods made on the farm. Membership perk: unlimited free spring water.
LET IT BEE HONEY & MORE STORE
4689 Ute Highway Unit B, Lyons Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday
Experience pollinator immersion in this roadside stop offering everything beerelated: honey, pollen, beeswax candles, royal jelly, honey candy and gifts.
MASA SEED FOUNDATION FARM
1367 N. 75th St., Boulder
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. MASA is a nationally known source for organic, non-hybrid, heirloom seeds grown in Boulder. MASA’s farm stand offers fresh vegetables, greens and wise gardening advice.
MEADOW LAKE HONEY
7922 Meadow Lake Road, Niwot Daytime hours
This small, porch self-serve stand offers raw honey collected at the family’s onsite apiary.
In its 161st year as a family farm, the self-service stand features vegetables, plants and eggs.
MUNSON FARMS
75th and Valmont Road, Boulder
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (starting in late July) Munson Farms is Boulder County’s oldest and best-known farmstand supplying generations of visitors with sweet corn,
Credit: John Lehndorff
NIBBLES
diverse vegetables and Western Slope fruit. In the fall, it becomes a pumpkin patch and a holiday tree source.
OLLIN FARMS
8627 N. 95th St., Longmont
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays
Ollin Farms maintains a well-stocked roadside store packed with fresh veggies from its fields in Longmont. Look for Ollin Farms’ Wednesday produce popup stand at Lafayette’s Odd 13 Brewing.
RED WAGON FARM
1640 W. Baseline Road (at Thomas Open Space), Lafayette
SUNBEAM FARM
1005 Cherryvale Road, Boulder Dawn to dusk daily
This urban honor-system stand offers garden plants, eggs and some organically grown greens and vegetables.
TABOR ACRES
3918 N. 119th St., Lafayette
Daylight hours daily
The farm specializes in growing flowers, but the small self-service stand also offers honey and eggs.
THE LITTLE EGGSTAND
1324 County Road 7, Erie Daylight hours daily
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (opening in late July)
The local farm operates a roomy roadside barn well-stocked with Red Wagon produce but also a wealth of locally produced mushrooms, eggs and other food products.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN MILKHOUSE
4511 County Road 32, Longmont (Mead)
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
Farm-fresh milk, chocolate milk, cream, gelato eggs and cheese are available at this small store.
SHADOW BUTTE LAKE RANCH
Valmont Road near 70th Street, Boulder
Daylight hours daily
A small, self-service roadside box offers eggs and some fresh vegetables.
SPEEDWELL FARM
8104 N. 63rd St., Longmont
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
Speedwell supplies a wide variety of farm-produced vegetables, herbs and greens as well as pork, beef, eggs and honey.
SUAREZ MARKET
11078 N. 66th St., Longmont
Check website for market hours: suarezwines.com
The small family-run stand offers produce, eggs, baked goods and gifts.
SUMMERDOG FARM
8716 Arapahoe Road, Boulder
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
The Summerdog shack features fresh produce as well as jars of small batch jams, classic baked goods, honey and bee products. Be sure to say hi to the bevy of bouncing goats.
Self-service (cash or Venmo) stand offering chicken and duck eggs.
THREE LEAF FARM
445 S. 112th St., Lafayette
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays
The Three Leaf Farm stand offers the same fresh veggies, herbs and flowers featured at Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant, Zucca, Chautauqua Dining Hall and Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Three Leaf also has a booth at the new Sunday Lafayette Farmers Market.
An immersive agricultural Ya Ya visit includes cute farm animals and tree fruit, apple cider, apple cider doughnuts, apple pie and other treats.
DID WE MISS ANY?
Let us know if we forgot your favorite spot. We’ll add them to the online listing. Email complete details to nibbles@ boulderweekly.com.
John Lehndorff co-hosts Kitchen Table Talk with chef Dan Asher monthly on KGNU. Podcasts: kgnu.org/category/ radio-nibbles
Credit: John Lehndorff
ON DRUGS
OPINION: COLORADO KIDS ARE NOT HIGH ON LIFE
Oft-cited survey on teen cannabis use not backed up by objective data
BY ANNA SEGUR
In Colorado, a wide swath of politicians, regulatory agencies and industry representatives have seized on the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey as definitive proof that the legalization of cannabis in Colorado has led to a decrease in teen use. However, parents and local addiction counselors that work with youth point to an exponential increase in cannabis use among teens, particularly of dangerous and untested high potency THC products.
Colorado’s young people are facing deadly health consequences as a result of this increased access and use:
● From 2013-2023, Colorado Poison Center calls for marijuana exposure tripled from 62 to 251 per year for youth 0-19 years of age. In 2023, 60% of these calls were for children under five. Similarly, for edibles, products that look and taste like candy, there were no poison center calls registered before legalization, but in 2023, they represented over
half of the Colorado youth marijuana poison center calls. [Source: Reported Marijuana Exposures in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety]
● After legalization in Colorado, cannabis-related ER visits for 13-21 year olds quadrupled, with a majority of adolescent cases requiring psychiatric treatment. [Source: Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2022 Summary, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment]
● Since legalization, toxicology reports for Colorado youth aged 10-18 who committed suicide show that 25% had THC in their system at the time of death. These toxicology reports show that cannabis was the substance most commonly present at time of death, nearly double the rate of alcohol.
Furthermore, from 2019-2022, a third of Black and Hispanic children who committed suicide had THC in their system at the time of death.
The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey is a voluntary, confidential survey administered in school by the State of Colorado. The online survey asks for children to self-report on a variety of behaviors including drug use.
People who work with Colorado youth have shared that kids don’t believe the results are confidential, and some laughed out loud when told that the Healthy Kids Survey shows a drop in teenage marijuana use since legalization. Research into the use of surveys on self-reported drug use has concluded that such surveys underestimate actual drug use by 30-60% and should be verified by “objective measures” such as hair toxicology.
Another source of “objective measures” on actual teen use is the Colorado Department of Education’s disciplinary incidents data. This measure aggregates annual disciplinary reports from all public schools in Colorado. The first year cannabis disciplinary data was recorded was in the 2015-2016 school year, one year after recreational sales began in the state.
Over a seven-year period, disciplinary incidents involving cannabis in Colorado schools nearly doubled, increasing from 3,704 to 6,671 per year, while total enrollment decreased by less than 1%. Furthermore, in the 2022-23 school year, there were 6.5 times as many disciplinary incidents for cannabis in school as there were for alcohol.
It is not plausible that teen use goes down while disciplinary incidents in Colorado schools go up.
Another objective measure of actual teen use is law enforcement criminal citations involving minors for possession or sale of marijuana or paraphernalia. This data is not currently aggregated or available at a statewide level. Requesting this data from law enforcement agencies is time consuming and costly as it requires payment of Colorado Open Records Access fees, but could be required annual reporting under Colorado law to increase transparency around teen use.
I encourage greater curiosity among the public health scientists, regulators and politicians who are loudly heralding the Colorado cannabis success story solely based on the self-reported results from the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey. It is time to triangulate the Healthy Kids Survey data with these other data points that show increasing youth marijuana use and negative health impacts. Our kids deserve laws based on science and safety.
Anna Segur is a Boulder-based mother and activist. She has a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.
