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Marijuana at bars and clubs?

Durango businesses appear open to the idea
Marijuana advocates in Denver have proposed asking voters there to allow marijuana use at businesses such as bars, clubs and hotels. In Durango, business owners seem open to the idea.

DENVER – As marijuana advocates in Denver push a proposal to allow the use of cannabis in commercial spaces, Durango businesses seem receptive.

The Campaign for Limited Social Use launched its petition drive Thursday, asking voters in Denver to place a question on the city’s November ballot that would offer businesses the choice to allow patrons to use the now-legal substance on commercial grounds.

While Amendment 64 legalized marijuana, local governments have prohibited consumption in commercial spaces, such as at bars and clubs. Cannabis clubs have been shut down. The issue has caused problems for visitors and Coloradans alike, who simply don’t have a place to go. Some find themselves lighting up on sidewalks and in parks.

Under the proposal, businesses that have a license to sell alcohol for on-site consumption – such as a bar or club – would be able to decide whether to allow cannabis consumption on the premises. Businesses without an alcohol license would be allowed to permit use, subject to regulation by the city.

All commercial establishments that allow adults to use marijuana would be required to comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act. Bars could allow smoking in designated smoking areas outside, as is the case now with tobacco.

“Marijuana is a legal product for adults in Denver that is much safer than alcohol,” said Mason Tvert, a proponent of the initiative, who was also a lead proponent of Amendment 64, which passed in 2012. “Adults should have the right to consume it socially with other adults in commercial establishments that choose to allow it.

“We also need to ensure that adults who visit Denver and purchase marijuana legally have a place where they can consume it legally,” Tvert said.

For Kirk Komick, owner of the Leland House and Rochester Hotels, his quaint, historic hotel would not be conducive to marijuana use. The entire premises is already smoke-free, and he said he hasn’t received many requests. But Komick likes the idea because he believes businesses should have a choice, and visitors should have an option.

“I certainly support the industry, and I think having the choice within the hotel industry as a whole is a good option,” Komick said. “Having a smoking room would be a good, viable option for Colorado; having places of business that are established for that purpose would be great.”

Over at Orio’s Roadhouse, where the bar already enjoys an exemption from the statewide smoking ban, owner Heidi Orio said she would be open to allowing a marijuana smoking section if Durango headed in a similar direction. Orio said she would even love to be able to sell marijuana at her establishment, though the Denver initiative stops short of allowing that. She said customers ask all the time whether they can smoke marijuana inside, and when they’re told they can’t, they simply walk outside to do so.

“It comes up all the time; people try to bring it in,” Orio said. “If there’s designated areas for it, you’ll be abiding by the law better ... versus I’m going to do it illegally on the street.”

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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