The Father of

Legal Pot Martin Chilcutt helped make marijuana mainstream by

CHRIS KILLIAN

Under cover of darkness on a Sunday evening, when police presence was at its lowest, Martin Chilcutt pulled his car into a North Denver shopping center parking lot, turned off the engine and waited for his contact to arrive. When he did, the man told Chilcutt to give him his keys and then instructed him to head inside the store for at least a half hour — to buy a few things, pretend to browse, anything really, as long as he didn't draw attention to himself. Chilcutt emerged from the store at the agreed-upon time, took back his keys, started the engine and drove into the night — carefully.

Martin Chilcutt on the deck of his Kalamazoo home.

20 | ENCORE FEBRUARY 2020