Ready for Research—Not Action

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]F[/dropcap]or a while, there was buzz going around that the city of Englewood, located just outside Denver, would be the first place to legalize cannabis clubs, allowing Denverites somewhere they could go to hang out and smoke as an alternative to smoking at home or going to a bar. However, Englewood has now decided to postpone this decision for six months in order to gather more data and take time to analyze this decision and the factors involved.

Back in October, according to Westword, the Englewood Liquor and Medical Marijuana Licensing Authority wrote up an ordinance draft that would outline the rules for cannabis consumption clubs and set a cap on how many clubs could be opened in the county. This was to come in light of the six-month moratorium on cannabis clubs that was set to expire in January. However, they have decided to extend this moratorium for another six months in order to give the new City Council that will be elected the chance to decide, and to give the people of Englewood more time to think over this decision.

“The new council is going to have a lot to say about it,” Councilman Steven Yates told Westword. “I don’t know what direction that is going to be.”

Currently, Englewood is somewhat conservative when it comes to allowing cannabis use. Only medical cannabis is allowed within city limits, and there are currently no recreational dispensaries. However, there is one private cannabis club in the city currently, called iBake Englewood. The only people who are allowed to consume cannabis at iBake Englewood are official members, and in light of the new moratorium it is to remain a private club. The club is also grandfathered in, so the moratorium is not going to affect their ability to keep their doors open.

“ . . . the Englewood Liquor and Medical Marijuana Licensing Authority wrote up an ordinance draft that would outline the rules for cannabis consumption clubs and set a cap on how many clubs could be opened in the county.”

Yates told Westword that some concerns about opening these clubs are the fact that the air quality would make employees intoxicated, cannabis and driving laws are still a slippery slope and people would be leaving the club intoxicated, and fire safety since there will be so much smoke in the clubs.

“I was there for 30-35 minutes, and then I walked outside and sat down,” Yates told Westword regarding a visit he made to the iBake Englewood. “I had a little buzz going on.”

Although talks are still tentative because of the extended moratorium, people are already coming up with solutions to these problems. A member of the Englewood Liquor and Medical Marijuana Licensing Authority suggested that putting a limit on the number of members allowed in clubs would help keep intoxicated drivers off the roads.

“In (city) code, it doesn’t necessarily address this type of environment,” Yates added. “If we’re going to bring the limelight to us, I want it to be a success.”

It is still up in the air how this will play out, and whether or not Englewood will make history by legalizing cannabis clubs, but however this pans out, one thing is for sure—people in urban areas want places where they can smoke in public, and cannabis clubs appear to be just around the corner.