DENVER — Clubs and public places like coffee shops, art galleries and yoga studios in Denver might now allow the usage of pot, making it the first city in the nation to do so.
In November, voters narrowly approved the “social use” of marijuana. The new law states that the substance can only be used by patrons who are over 21and it can’t be smoked inside. However, the ballot proposal didn’t offer many rules for how the marijuana could be consumed.
A workgroup will immediately start work on suggesting regulations. The group is composed of city pot regulators, Denver business owners and marijuana opponents.
Pot usage can only happen in restaurants that don’t serve alcohol and other event spaces. No businesses with a liquor license can allow marijuana use; this is according to the state Liquor Control Board.
Supporters hope to see the city start accepting applications by this summer. There’s no deadline for Denver to finalize rules.
According to Emmett Reistroffer; a cannabis-industry consultant, the eventual regulations will require neighborhood approval for any pot clubs or coffee shops. He ran 2016s’s campaign to allow public marijuana use.
Reistroffer said that,”There are plenty of places in Denver where you can find neighbors who want this kind of establishment.”
Rachel O’Bryan; the planner of the opposition campaign is also attending the meeting.
Participating businesses won’t have control over what people are consuming because the measure does not allow the businesses to sell pot.
Patrons would have to bring their own pot, whether its joints they smoke in outdoor areas or edibles they use inside.
O’Bryan is concerned about the safety of the pot consumers when they get back on the wheel.
“If you are neither serving nor counting the potency of the product, nor counting how much they consume, how are you protecting the public when they leave your property?” O’Bryan asked.
A bill to allow pot clubs statewide is pending at the state Legislature.