Kush. Purple Haze. Golden Goat.

While the names of its strains may sound funny, Colorado’s marijuana industry has proven it is no joke as the state recently blew past the second anniversary of recreational pot sales.

But some cities still act as if they didn’t get the memo.

In the wake of Amendment 64, cities such as Littleton rushed to place a moratorium on the retail sales, growth, and testing of marijuana in 2013 then outright banned the sale of recreational pot in July 2014.

There is one big problem: the ban is not exactly what the law intended.

Amendment 64, by its very nature, literally amended the Colorado constitution to allow the sales, growth, and retail consumption of marijuana throughout the state. Although Amendment 64’s section 5(f) regarding retail regulation does allow municipalities to pass ordinances to ban marijuana, it was intended to be the exception – not the rule.

More than two years after the passage of Amendment 64, Littleton residents and business leaders said they are forced to watch as valuable tax revenue goes up in smoke.

Matt Pontiff, a Certified Public Accountant and business owner in Littleton, said the ban only pushes needed tax revenue away from Littleton to surrounding communities where recreational marijuana is available. He believes lifting the ban would be “a fiscally responsible and prudent measure.”

“As I understand, Littleton can assess a special tax on recreational pot,” said Pointiff, owner at Pontiff and Associates, P.C. “This would be of significant benefit to residents and landowners in Littleton as it could possibly reduce commercial real estate taxes, which are disproportionately high in my opinion. With the ban, other neighboring municipalities are currently enjoying the revenue that could be used in Littleton to its benefit.”

He and others in the community said they have been approached regarding a campaign to overturn the ban.

Greg Reinke, president of the Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants Association and co-owner of the family owned Reinke Brothers Halloween Superstore for 43 years, says he has talked with the mayor and city council members regarding the issue. Reinke says he has never smoked marijuana nor does he have any interest in it but he sees the issue play out on the streets of Littleton every day.

Reinke said that pre-existing medical marijuana stores, which are allowed under Colorado’s medical marijuana law, have been model neighbors who are friendly, who keep the exterior of their businesses clean and in fact have joined the downtown merchants’ association. He would rather see legitimate, storefront purchases in businesses that give back to the community rather than drug deals occurring in cars on the street.

As for recreational pot use, Reinke says the city is not only out of step with Colorado, it is out of touch with reality. It is all happening right under the city council members’ noses.

“People are going to do it anyway. In fact, they are already doing it. I see people purchasing pot ten minutes away from Littleton and bringing it back. So, it’s in the community already. The ban is not stopping it from coming here. All it is doing is hurting the businesses here.”

In response to the Littleton city council’s ban, both Pontiff and Reinke said it is not an accurate form of representative government.

“I believe there is an inherent conflict here,” said Pontiff, referring to the fact that the majority of Littleton residents actually voted in favor of Amendment 64.

“They’re not implementing the will of the people,” added Reinke.

As Littleton continues to experiment with its ban on a substance now legal throughout the state, it remains to be seen if residents and business leaders will surmount an official challenge to the ban.

For now, many believe the city continues to burn its constituents and negatively impact the bottom line of the very people who lawfully exercised their right to vote in favor of legalization.