PARACHUTE, Colo. -- The first drive-thru pot shop in the country is opening in Colorado, just in time for the annual "high holiday" of 4/20.
The Tumbleweed Express Drive-Thru in Parachute, in the western part of the state, is holding its grand opening on Thursday.
Owner Mark Smith, 58, was a pawn shop man. He owned 23 of them and eventually sold them to EZ Pawn. With the cold hard cash in his back pocket, he headed west and landed in Parachute.
"I've been driving by the car wash building a lot. I talked to the realtor here in town and it was for sale. So, it seemed like the perfect fit," Smith said.
Smith bought the old car wash and turned it into what he claims to be the only drive-thru marijuana dispensary in the world.
"It's really a real estate issue," Smith said. "This is not an easy business to do inside a normal building. You really need something structured for a drive-thru bay, and the car wash was ideal because it had drive-thru features to it."
Add the fact the Tumbleweed Dispensary is just off Interstate 70, the main east-west highway in Colorado, and a lot of eyes are going to see this tumbleweed.
"The stars were in alignment. A lot of things lined up. We like the town, they are very supportive here." Smith said.
No one younger than 21 can be in the car. The drive-thru will be open 4 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday.
Parachute is home to about 1,100 people and marijuana is big business in the small town. According to the Post Independent, nearly 30 percent of the town's tax receipts last year were from marijuana sales.
No food is allowed to be sold in the drive-thru. But Smith has no problem super-sizing an order.
