Seven years after Colorado legalized marijuana, the state legislature has finally authorized options for people who want to use it somewhere other than private residences. A law that takes effect on Wednesday will allow cannabis consumption in specially licensed pot shops, restaurants, and other businesses, including mobile “marijuana hospitality establishments” such as tour buses. The law addresses a predicament that has long puzzled out-of-state visitors who stop by dispensaries in cities such as Denver and Pueblo, only to discover that there are virtually no places where they can legally consume the marijuana they have just legally bought.
That gap will not be filled immediately, since businesses that want to create cannabis consumption spaces have to obtain both state and local permission. The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division has posted a license application form, along with the relevant regulations, which take effect on January 1. But cities need not allow on-site consumption at all. Assuming that local governments go along, Coloradans should eventually see something like Dutch-style “coffeeshops” where customers can enjoy marijuana with food and beverages in a social setting.
Restaurants that serve alcohol are not eligible for the new licenses, and tobacco use will not be allowed either, although the law amends the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act to allow pot smoking in licensed locations. Licensees have to make sure that cannabis consumption is not visible to passers-by, prevent employees from partaking, and destroy any unused products that customers leave behind. Outdoor consumption areas are allowed, provided they are surrounded by “a sight-obscuring wall, fence, hedge, or other opaque or translucent barrier,” such that marijuana “is not visible from a public place without the use of optical aids, such as telescopes or binoculars, or aircraft.”
To read more, click on https://reason.com/2019/12/30/new-law-finally-authorizes-cannabis-cafes-in-colorado-the-first-state-to-allow-recreational-sales/