{"id":2444746,"date":"2019-05-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=307177"},"modified":"2019-05-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T06:00:00","slug":"high-country-valley-local-lauren-maytin-has-been-a-cannabis-crusader-longer-than-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/high-country-valley-local-lauren-maytin-has-been-a-cannabis-crusader-longer-than-most\/","title":{"rendered":"High Country: Valley local Lauren Maytin has been a cannabis crusader longer than most"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.6894197952218\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-307177-819\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | Aspen-based attorney Lauren Maytin takes a break at Hunter S. Thompson's Owl Farm.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen-based attorney Lauren Maytin takes a break at Hunter S. Thompson&#8217;s Owl Farm.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen-based attorney Lauren Maytin takes a break at Hunter S. Thompson's Owl Farm.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | Lauren Maytin got to know Hunter S. Thompson before he died, and helped to start the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship, which is in its 10th year.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Lauren Maytin got to know Hunter S. Thompson before he died, and helped to start the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship, which is in its 10th year.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Lauren Maytin got to know Hunter S. Thompson before he died, and helped to start the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship, which is in its 10th year.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | Lauren Maytin\u2019s Gonzo necklace was a personal gift from Anita Thompson for her work in creating the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship and her lifelong commitment to standing up for the rights of the accused.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Lauren Maytin\u2019s Gonzo necklace was a personal gift from Anita Thompson for her work in creating the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship and her lifelong commitment to standing up for the rights of the accused.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/highcountry-atw-053019-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Lauren Maytin\u2019s Gonzo necklace was a personal gift from Anita Thompson for her work in creating the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship and her lifelong commitment to standing up for the rights of the accused.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/high-country-valley-local-lauren-maytin-has-been-a-cannabis-crusader-longer-than-most\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/high-country-valley-local-lauren-maytin-has-been-a-cannabis-crusader-longer-than-most\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Cutline_Body\">While marijuana legalization has seen its most significant strides in the past five years, one longtime local has been fighting the good fight for far longer than most.<\/p>\n<p>Aspen-based criminal defense attorney Lauren Maytin began her cannabis crusade 1997 as a then-intern for Warren Edson (who also happens to be her now-partner) as a student at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. He had just started working on the writing of Amendment 20, which upon passage in 2000, effectively legalized limited amounts of medical marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>In 2001, Maytin received the John Flowers Mark NORML Scholarship for her work at DU and with Edson, commencing a lifelong commitment to the cause. Since then, she\u2019s become a lifetime member of NORML \u2014 formally known as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit \u2014 and the longest serving member on the board of directors for Colorado NORML. Her firm, The Law Offices of Edson &amp; Maytin, focuses primarily on criminal defense work and consulting on all facets of the marijuana industry in the state.<\/p>\n<p>But her biggest achievement? Founding the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship, which celebrates its 10th anniversary at this year\u2019s NORML Aspen Legal Seminar (May 30 to June 1). Her fundraising efforts over the years have morphed from hosting standalone soirees at the Mountain Chalet to receiving individual donations to producing the silent auction portion of the weekend, with proceeds designated to cover travel accommodations and registration fees.<\/p>\n<p>Maytin spearheads sifting through more than 20 applications per year of potential law students, practicing attorneys and marijuana activists to ultimately send two or three recipients to Aspen every summer. Ahead of the annual conference, I sat down with Maytin at the late, legendary author\u2019s former writing cabin, which Anita Thompson has recently opened up for overnight stays, to reflect on just how far she\u2019s come in cannabis:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aspen Times Weekly<\/strong>: Did you ever get the chance to meet Hunter?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lauren Maytin:<\/strong> I want to say the first time we met was 1999. This is back when John Van Ness lived in Woody Creek and he hosted one of NORML\u2019s events during the conference outside on his property. Hunter came charging up the driveway in the Red Shark, dust flying behind him and we were all like, \u201cOh my God, like who is this? Is this a movie? Like, where are we?\u201d He had a gun. It felt very \u2018Fear and Loathing (in Las Vegas)\u2019 and I was like, \u201cWow, this couldn\u2019t really be written any better.\u201d It was just like his journalism \u2026 you know \u2026 in your face. I thought it was writing before, but his writing was really him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> You formed a friendship with him in the few short years that followed, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lauren:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been coming to Aspen since 1975, but I moved here in 2002 permanently. And so he and I came into the same circles on occasion and I\u2019d see him at the Jerome. He kind of pegged me as \u201cthe marijuana one\u201d in town.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> What was the inspiration behind forming the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship?<\/p>\n<p><strong>LM:<\/strong> The inception was a few years after Hunter passed at the NORML (Aspen Legal) Seminar. I wanted to honor him and his legacy of activism for the movement that, really, has been rooted here since the \u201970s. I thought, \u201cI love weed. Everybody in this f\u2014ing town loves weed \u2026 they always have and always will.\u201d Back then, it was illegal, but I knew that our community would be willing to donate and come out for this cause.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> Beyond this scholarship, what do you consider your biggest achievement within the movement?<\/p>\n<p><strong>LM:<\/strong> The foundation that we\u2019ve laid. I\u2019m not doing the trailblazing anymore, you know what I mean? It\u2019s already the law and now we\u2019re just going with wherever the big, industry players are taking it. I\u2019m not an industry player, I\u2019m an adviser to the industry. I\u2019ve been named a cannabis regulatory expert in the District Court of Colorado and am very proud when I walk into places like Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Snowmass as they are trying to write regulations. I tell them what they\u2019re not thinking about and what they don\u2019t know. Look, I\u2019d rather be paid to do this kind of pro-bono work I do, but my overall sense of what the movement needs to succeed has always been to help set the parameters. That\u2019s been my lifelong goal \u2026 if we can do it responsibly, then why would somebody say no?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> Speaking of saying no, is a cannabis retailer really coming Snowmass Village?<\/p>\n<p><strong>LM:<\/strong> Yes. I just attended the (TOSV\u2019s) Local Licensing Authority meeting last week. The regulations they put forth \u2026 they just needed some modification. My purpose is to help guide new communities in the space toward accomplishing a solid regulatory framework. I mean \u2026 they were talking about addiction \u2026 about overdosing. The information is out there that disproves both of these issues. They (Markey Butler and Alyssa Shenk) don\u2019t care. I care about doing it right. It will happen, it\u2019s just going to be slow. My guess is that the former Hideaway space, which I think is a decent location, will open six months from now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> How does the plant play a role in your life and work?<\/p>\n<p><strong>LM:<\/strong> I\u2019m really high strung and I have a ton of energy, so it\u2019s definitely a nighttime stress reliever \u2026 a before bed type of thing to calm down at the end of the day. I know myself and have boundaries. I\u2019m one of those people that still wears closed-toed shoes in court \u2026 I don\u2019t wear anything above my knee \u2026 nothing off my shoulder. That\u2019s court process and that\u2019s how respect goes, right? When I do my job, I won\u2019t do it high.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATW:<\/strong> As a mom and vocal cannabis advocate, are you still up against the stigma or have you seen a significant shift?<\/p>\n<p><strong>LM:<\/strong> Yeah. I felt like I used to be like this amorphous \u201cmom who does pot,\u201d not a marijuana lawyer who happens to be a mom. My children are getting older, so I definitely think there\u2019s more of an understanding of what\u2019s happening, but I have to be frank \u2026 I don\u2019t usually talk about in a recreational term ever. My husband and I, we rarely drink and never smoke in front of the kids. We always talk about it as a medical substance based on a need and making people feel better. There are very few states left where it\u2019s completely illegal and I\u2019m blown away by that progress.<\/p>\n<p><em>Katie Shapiro can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:katie@katieshapiromedia.com\">katie@katieshapiromedia.com<\/a> or followed on Twitter @bykatieshapiro.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This interview has been edited and condensed.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/high-country-valley-local-lauren-maytin-has-been-a-cannabis-crusader-longer-than-most\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen-based attorney Lauren Maytin takes a break at Hunter S. Thompson&#8217;s Owl Farm.Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times Lauren Maytin got to know Hunter S. Thompson before he died, and helped to start the Colorado NORML Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship, which is in its 10th year.Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times Lauren Maytin\u2019s Gonzo necklace was a personal gift [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2444746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 23:38:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}