Smoking cigarettes in bars or restaurants is probably illegal, depending on which state you live in. Until today, though, lighting up a joint or blunt was illegal everywhere. But leave it to Denver to pave the way for marijuana enthusiasts, who are now going to be able to blaze it up in certain permitted establishments. It’s all thanks to the passing of Initiative 300, which essentially creates a program for certain businesses to allow patrons to get high on their premises.
Technically all the votes on Initiative 300 haven’t been fully counted, but it’s looking popular enough that opponents of the law have conceded.
Here’s CBS Denver‘s take on the new law:
Initiative 300 creates a pilot program that would let Denver bar and restaurant owners and other business owners apply for permits allowing for “bring-your-own” social marijuana use at their establishments. The permit would require neighborhood approval, by a city-registered group or a business district.
Under the permit, an establishment could allow people 21 and over to vape and consume cannabis products indoors in designated areas, and smoke outdoors, not within 100 feet of a school and not visible from a public right of way.
So the rule is that if a bar or restaurant gets the permit, patrons will legally be allowed to vape or eat weed products on their premises. If the establishment is 100 feet or more away from a school and has an outdoor section not visible to the public, then patrons can smoke outdoors. This isn’t some crazy law that’s letting people blaze in nice restaurants or anything, but it’s a nice step moving forward for people who like to smoke marijuana recreationally.
What we’re trying to say is that a trip to Denver this winter is going to be more worthwhile than ever.