Crestone OKs Pot Sales, 5 Other Towns Keep Bans In Place

Updated 9:10 a.m.

Voters in Hotchkiss opted Tuesday not to overturn the town’s ban on retail medical and recreational marijuana. Unofficial results suggest a 161-129 vote against the recreational question, and 156-133 against medical.

• Previously: Why Small-Town Voters May Change Direction On Pot Bans

The tiny North Fork town was among five, including Buena Vista, Julesburg, Poncha Springs and Silver Cliff, that all nixed pot sales and production. Only tiny Crestone, known as the Shambala of the Rockies for its many spiritual retreats, voted to allow pot sales.

In Silver Cliff, voters by an 183-99 margin resoundingly said "no" to rescinding a ban on marijuana sales. But they approved, by a 164-115 vote, a 10 percent tax on marijuana sales. The tax is a moot point since there will be no sales.

This story will be updated as more results come in.