Steady Start

The “missing link” of legal cannabis in Colorado is social consumption. Legislators have been wrestling with the intricacy of social consumption regulations since legalization first became accepted.

On June 30, Denver made history as the city and county’s Department of Excise and Licenses adopted “Rules Governing Marijuana Designated Consumption Areas,” which then went into effect July 1. City officials created a four-year pilot, as directed by Initiative 300, which was passed by voters November 2016.

“This will affect the entire industry very positively by providing consumers, including local residents and tourists with more access to cannabis consumption areas and encouraging responsible use.”

In Denver, social consumption businesses will be able to open up as early as fall of 2017, but not without going through an extensive permitting process first. They will need to receive approval from the city and also support or “non-opposition” from the neighborhoods where these businesses plan to open.

It is the most progress any legal state has made so far towards regulating social use. CULTURE spoke to a few experts and hopeful smoking lounge entrepreneurs who can already envision a very bright future for social consumption.

B.Y.O.C. Locations

Those who obtain a proper zone use permit will be considered Cannabis Consumption Business Locations, and locations will allow adults to bring their own cannabis. “This will affect the entire industry very positively by providing consumers, including local residents and tourists with more access to cannabis consumption areas and encouraging responsible use,” said Emmett Reistroffer of Denver Relief Counseling, who is currently counseling cannabis enthusiasts about starting social use spaces and considering starting one of his own. Restroffer shared a concern, however, that smaller coffee shops and art galleries may have a difficult time acquiring the funds necessary to pay permit fees, install proper ventilation systems and employ full-time security staff.

Downfall for Dispensaries

Currently existing businesses that sell or cultivate cannabis in Denver are ineligible to apply for consumption permits, however many dispensaries are hopeful that this rule will change. Existing cannabis businesses that sell or cultivate cannabis would like the opportunity to offer customers a chance to consume their product in attached smoking lounges. “If they allow these shops to sell flower, edibles and oils, why would a tourist go to a dispensary?” asked Brendan Gillis, CEO of vape pen company Vapor Slide. “I think it is important for the industry to separate retail from consumption so it does not affect the dispensaries’ bottom line. The ideal location would be a dispensary attached to a lounge, so there is big opportunity for dispensaries to expand if they already have the right location.”

Intermingle with Events and the Industry

Permits will also still be issued for short-term events called “Cannabis Consumption Special Event Locations.” It will now be even easier for events like cannabis rallies, LGBTQ Pride parties and other shindigs to allow for legal social consumption. “I think we will see cannabis become more integrated into mainstream society, as we slowly move to overcome the stigma and prejudice that still affects cannabis consumers,” explained Reistroffer.

Full Bar Flash Forward

Of course, while current social use promises a safe place to smoke and a boom for the legal industry, it is fun to envision an even more distant future where public use will be more like the final episodes of the 2005 TV show Weeds, where cannabis is sold like alcohol. “The future of social use looks very much like the bars and nightclubs that we have today for alcohol consumption,” said Krista Whitley of Media Unicorn, a group tasked with branding for the cannabis industry, including imagining a future where the industry will have grown even more.

However, as fun as long-term dreaming is, the reality is that social use is here today, but will need to start off slow in order to prove that it can be regulated responsibly. “The current rules prohibit combining cannabis and alcohol, which makes nearly all bars and restaurants ineligible from applying,” Reistroffer told CULTURE. In Denver, where plans are now underway for a public use structure, full-scale cannabis bars are not yet a reality.