Stoner, Colorado "mayor" claims harassment over plans to turn town into marijuana mecca
Last week, we introduced you to Frank McDonald, self-proclaimed mayor of Stoner, Colorado, who announced plans to transform the two-person town where he lives into an entertainment destination infused with the spirit of Amendment 64. Since that story and another profile, however, McDonald says he's been jailed and harassed -- in retribution, he thinks, for his Stoner dream.
Big photos below.
As we reported, Stoner is located in what McDonald describes as "a little valley in the middle of nowhere near Rico on your way to Telluride." It consists of nine buildings, not counting the "little hunter's shack up on Stoner Creek" occupied by the town's only other resident -- an old lady named Mary Jane.
According to McDonald, the structures include an eatery, a general store, several cabins (well, three of them are trailers) that need to be remodeled or refurbished and 35 RV spots. But what the average observer may consider a ramshackle assemblage McDonald sees as a destination music venue: Mary Jane's at Stoner Grill, Bar and Events Center. He anticipates bringing national acts to the spread, which could host up to 4,000 people in an atmosphere that's both cannabis- and family friendly.
This mural of Frank can be found on the floor of Stoner's restaurant.
McDonald moved to Stoner from Missouri, where he was the CEO of a product development company. After the end of his marriage -- his wife was his business partner -- and a bout with cancer that he treated with cannabis oil (he's a medical marijuana patient and a passionate advocate for the plant's healing properties), he made the bold decision to buy Stoner.
He's been developing the property for the past two years or so, but he hasn't gotten as far along as he'd like due to a series of setbacks. Some were health-related; he went through kidney surgery. Others related to fate; he survived a serious traffic accident. But he says he's also been the victim of persistent vandalism and burglary, suffering forty separate incidents, by his estimate, that make him think someone in the area doesn't like his ideas for the future of Stoner. But he says the Montezuma Sheriff's Department, the main law enforcement agency in the area, hasn't taken the reports seriously.
Continue for the latest developments in Stoner, Colorado.
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