FREE
April 4, 2019
DENVER
EASTER OFFERINGS Egg hunts, brunch, church services abound P10
Since 1926
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
Pot ER visits climb in Denver hospital study Numbers rise threefold since weed became retail product BY CARLA K. JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
bought in the fall of 1988. They spent the next several months trying to persuade banks to lend them money — during a recession — to renovate the building. Through hard work and research at the library, the couple was able to bring the historic mansion at 1572 Race St. back to its former glory. But Peiker is ready for the next step in his life. Diane died in October, and in February Peiker celebrated his 84th birthday. The bed-and breakfast-industry has changed, Peiker said.
Five years after Colorado first legalized marijuana, a new study shows that unwanted effects of cannabis and cannabis products are sending more people to the emergency room. Inhaled marijuana caused the most severe problems at one large Denver area hospital. Marijuana-infused foods and candies, called edibles, also led to trouble. Patients came to the ER with symptoms such as repeated vomiting, racing hearts and psychotic episodes. The study, published March 25 in Annals of Internal Medicine, stemmed from tales of tourists needing emergency care after gobbling too many marijuana gummies. “It was hard to know if these were just anecdotes or if there was a true phenomenon,” said lead author Dr. Andrew Monte of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Three deaths in Colorado tied to edible products also prompted the study. Emergency room records from Monte’s hospital show a threefold increase in marijuana cases since the state became the first to allow sales of recreational marijuana in January 2014. Nearly a third of patients were admitted to the hospital, evidence of severe symptoms, Monte said. In 2012, the ER saw an average of one patient every other day with a marijuana-caused problem. By 2016, the count was two to three per day.
SEE MARNE, P15
SEE STUDY, P6
Jim Peiker looks out the stained glass window at the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast. After 30 years running the business, Peiker decided to put the building up for sale. KAILYN LAMB
Thankful for Castle Marne Owner of bed and breakfast says it’s time to say goodbye BY KAILYN LAMB KLAMB@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On a cold January day in 1988, Jim Peiker and his wife Diane were hunting for a bed and breakfast in City Park West, in the hopes of buying it and starting a new career. Across the street from the bed and breakfast the Peikers were looking at stood an old vacant stone house at
East 16th Avenue and Race Street. As they peeked through the windows, they saw a “Keep out” sign — a rough welcome. “It was a mess,” Peiker remembers. “It was in such shape that we kept looking and kept looking, and kept coming back and kept coming back.” But the old house had picked them. And that was the start of the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Peiker said of his 30 years running the business. Time to let go Today, Peiker is a walking encyclopedia on the castle he and Diane
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“I take pride in being from Colorado, being a product of the school system in Denver and everything that my life has been leading up to these past couple of years.” Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies pitcher | Page 13 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | SPORTS: PAGE 13 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 22