SEDGWICK — Residents of this sleepy little town in far northeast Colorado smile optimistically when talking about the turn their municipality has taken over the past few years.
Town officials, business owners and residents paint a picture of a community on the brink of death in the early 2000s. Town officials even started discussions in 2010 about unincorporating their little town less than 10 miles from the Nebraska state line.
Instead, the town passed an ordinance to allow a medical marijuana dispensary to open in 2012. When state voters approved Colorado Amendment 64, making it legal to possess and grow pot for recreational use, the town allowed Sedgwick Alternative Relief to expand into the recreational trade.
What happened next gave Sedgwick hope.