Iraq War Veteran With PTSD Becomes The First Person To Buy Weed Legally In Colorado
Sean Azzariti is America's first retail marijuana customer.
This is Sean Azzariti. At 8 a.m. MT on Jan. 1, he became the first person in the U.S. to buy weed from a legal marijuana store in Colorado.
Azzariti with his marijuana and receipt following the transaction at Denver's 3D Cannabis Center Wednesday.
Just witnessed the first legal purchase of weed at 8am in Denver to a wat vet with PTSD named Sean Azzariti.
Cory Reppenhagen
@CRepp7News
Just witnessed the first legal purchase of weed at 8am in Denver to a wat vet with PTSD named Sean Azzariti.
Azzariti's purchase: an eighth of an ounce of the strain Bubba Kush and an edible truffle.
The receipt from Colorado's 1st recreational marijuana purchase, in the hands of customer Sean Azzariti. #canabistco
John Ingold
@john_ingold
The receipt from Colorado's 1st recreational marijuana purchase, in the hands of customer Sean Azzariti. #canabistco
Azzariti served as a Marine in the Iraq War and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He now works as a marijuana activist in Denver.
Azzariti became Colorado's first legal weed purchaser through his connection to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group of activists who led the campaign to pass Amendment 64, which makes weed sales legal in the state.
Azzariti appeared in a TV ad last year discussing how marijuana would help alleviate his symptoms with PTSD. Despite efforts, only seven states have passed legislation that allows those suffering from PTSD to obtain medical marijuana legally. Colorado is not one of them.
Worth noting this was the ceremonial first purchase. Other sales may have closed fractionally earlier somewhere else in state. #cannabistco
John Ingold
@john_ingold
Worth noting this was the ceremonial first purchase. Other sales may have closed fractionally earlier somewhere else in state. #cannabistco
Sean Azzariti smiles as he makes a cash transaction, the first to buy retail marijuana at 3D Cannabis Center.
Statement from Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project and co-director of the Amendment 64 campaign:
"Millions of adults use marijuana in the United States, but only in Colorado will they be purchasing it from regulated businesses instead of in the underground market. Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and Colorado is the first place in the country to start treating it that way.
"Making marijuana legal for adults is not an experiment. Marijuana prohibition is the experiment, and the results have been abysmal. If we can successfully regulate alcohol, we can surely regulate a less harmful substance like marijuana. Colorado is going to prove that regulating marijuana works, and it won't be long before more states follow our lead."
Legal retail marijuana sales began Wednesday in Colorado.
3-D Cannabis has a hallway where patrons can look into one of their grows. #cannabistco
John Ingold
@john_ingold
3-D Cannabis has a hallway where patrons can look into one of their grows. #cannabistco
According to the Denver Post, 37 recreational marijuana stores are now open for business around the state.
This father and son from Georgia slept in their van to be here as #Colorado sells its first recreational pot
jack healy
@jackhealyNYT
This father and son from Georgia slept in their van to be here as #Colorado sells its first recreational pot
Quite a line has formed outside 3-D Cannabis. #cannabistco
John Ingold
@john_ingold
Quite a line has formed outside 3-D Cannabis. #cannabistco
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Michael Hayes is a senior reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Mike Hayes at mike@buzzfeed.com.
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