Recreational sales of marijuana will be legal under state and local governments in Colorado come New Year’s Day, including so-called pot-infused food such as brownies. There’s been nothing like this since the end of Prohibition. For consumers in Colorado, it means there is a new food safety cop to deal with for those marijuana-infused foods – the Colorado Department of Revenue. The voter-approved Amendment 64 gave no power to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, and federal agencies are being kept out. This will all end when the first poisoned person from a pot-infused pathogen begins experiencing symptoms. Until then, we are left pretending Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) is a food safety agency. Most of what happens from here is a great unknown. At least when Prohibition ended, most places went back to what they were before the federal government tried to outlaw booze. Greeley, for example, went back to being “dry.” Greeley now is among a long list of Colorado cities that adopted either bans or moratoriums on local marijuana licensing. But, because of its peculiar history with temperance, Greeley’s decision to opt out of the pot parade on behalf of its 110,000 residents comes with an interesting twist. You see, before Greeley was Greeley, it was “The Union Colony,” often referred to as “The Temperance Colony.” It was settled under the leadership of Nathan Meeker, agricultural editor of Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune. Meeker was the young man to whom Greeley gave the directions to “Go West.” Thousands applied to join Meeker, but only about 700 were chosen based on strict criteria involving cooperation, irrigation, temperance, religion and education. Because of its beginnings, Greeley remained “dry” for its first 100 years – until 1972. Students at the state teacher’s college, now the University of Northern College, were a thirsty lot after Prohibition. To satisfy the demand, the two tiny towns of Rosedale and Garden City were incorporated for the bars, saloons and liquor stores that Greeley kept out. So many establishments opened that it was just possible that college students were not the only ones opting out of temperance. Rosedale no longer exists, but Garden City remains as an independent town on about one square mile of ground. It is home to about 80 families. And, guess what? History is repeating itself as Greeley issued no pot licenses to service the marijuana demands of its 110,000 residents, but Garden City is coming through with four retail pot outlets. At least one is already approved for “opening day” on Jan. 1. The state has approved 136 retail licenses, including 102 in Denver. The rest are scattered around the state, including just two in Northern Colorado, counting the one outlet in Garden City. Retailers will be able to sell pot to anyone older than 21. And, yes, the all-seeing and all-knowing federal government says it will keep out of all this as long as Colorado keeps its pot away from children, other states, criminal cartels and federal property. Resort managers say that because most Colorado ski areas are located on federal property, guests are not allowed to light up anywhere in the mountains – even in those pricey rooms. Good thing there is snow on the ground this time of year.