Smoking Marijuana At Restaurants May Soon Be A Thing In Denver

Since its legalization in 2012, pot culture has really taken hold of Colorado. This year, marijuana sales have accrued more revenue for the state than alcohol sales. Now Denver is trying to legalize marijuana smoking in public, which would make reefer a discernable presence in restaurants and bars.  To be clear, pot is legal in the entire state of Colorado, but you have to smoke it at home.

If this new initiative passed (it's currently waiting on the Denver City Council), you could ostensibly sit on a bar stool and consume two types of bud. However, customers would have to smoke their own weed (no buying it from the bartender), and comply with smoking rules: i.e. an outdoor, separate smoking area. However, if you consumed marijuana edibles, there would be no restriction.

"Marijuana's now a legal product for adults in Denver, and it's really time that we give adults a place to use it legally and socially," Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado's 2012 campaign to legalize recreational pot told The Cannabist. "We shouldn't be requiring that you sit at home if you choose to use marijuana as an adult."

Smoking marijuana in public has been a touchy issue in Colorado. For the most part Denver has allowed quiet marijuana usage in private 21-and-over clubs, but when marijuana enthusiasts attempt to host events, there have been intermittent arrests where food and pot intermingle.

"An eight-person SWAT team descended on the event and shut down our cannabis brunch," Jane West, an events promoter, told The Cannabist.