Reader: Denver Doesn't Even Pretend to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

This week, Herbert Fuego paid a visit to the Coffee Joint, the first establishment to receive Denver's okay for social consumption. But while that means you can consume edibles in the coffee shop, you can't buy them or any other pot products there. Nor can you smoke any; because of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, every business that gets a Cannabis Consumption Establishment license in Denver can only allow electronic vaporization and edibles consumption indoors, Fuego notes.

And consumers don't like that. Says Josh:

The law already exempts tobacco-specific businesses such as cigar shops/bars. This should be an insanely easy legislative fix. Of course, who are we kidding? They don't even pretend to regulate marijuana like alcohol, as the plain words of our constitution dictate.

Adds Scott: 

There should be an exemption to the Clean Indoor Air Act for clubs like this so they can allow cannabis consumption. It isn't bad like second-hand smoke and when such laws were written it was only tobacco and cloves people were legally smoking. At the very least, they should be able to sell edibles and vape cartridges/concentrates and the pens themselves.

Notes Michael: 

If you can't smoke weed there, it's useless to me and many others..

Counters Paul: 

So far, so good. Keep moving the needle further, or speakeasies will eat the lounge market.

Notes Ronnie: 

Sounds like a lame place to get crappy coffee but if it pisses off downtown residents, then I like it!

Concludes Dom: 

While I'm happy for this business, this is NOT what the voters approved. Mayor Hancock and his corrupt administration ruined I-300. What gives them the right to overturn the popular vote? This isn't gonna change anything, public cannabis consumption will not decrease.

Keep reading for more of our coverage of public consumption.

"A Historic Toke at the Coffee Joint, Denver's First Licensed Pot Lounge"

"Denver Issues License to City's First Pot Lounge"

"Emmett Reistroffer Talks About I-300 and Where Social Use Is Going"

In 2016, Denver voters approved an initiative to allow certain businesses to apply for cannabis-consumption licenses. The optimism of those would-be businesses was tested several times as the city wrestled with regulations, and it took over a year before the Coffee Joint was able to open for social consumption.

While there have been a few private clubs sprinkled around the state that allow pot consumption upon membership, they're largely unregulated, walk a thin line with local law enforcement, and are off the beaten path, making them difficult to access for average and novice users. The Coffee Joint, owned by a group that co-owns the dispensary next door, provides a social experience that's supposed to be different, selling customers small drinks and snacks while they consume cannabis that they must bring in to the licensed establishment.

Is this what voters envisioned when they passed I-300? Is marijuana really being regulated like alcohol, as Amendment 64 urged? Post your thoughts in a comment, or email [email protected].