Dear Stoner: Can I Take Edibles to a Work Party?

Dear Stoner: Why did the annual 4/20 rally (the one with Lil Wayne and Wiz, canceled on April 16) have to jump through so many obstacles for a permit, but the stoner fest at Civic Center on April 20 was just fine?
Scott

Dear Scott: The Official 4/20 Rally isn’t just a group of potheads coming together; it comes with vendor booths, food carts and musical performances, and it requires tickets to get in, with some of the VIP tickets costing significant amounts of money. Because of all those commercial factors, the City of Denver considers it a “special event,” so the event’s organizers must register with the city for permits to hold the rally at Civic Center Park every year. And it’s not just one or two permits that are needed: After notifying the surrounding neighborhood of the event, organizers must obtain permits from the Denver Fire Department, the Denver Police Department, Excise and Licenses and the Department of Environmental Health — and that’s just the first four, with more to go after that. Unfortunately for everyone on April 16, Mother Nature doesn’t issue permits.

The smoke-out you saw at Civic Center on April 20 might have looked like a special event because of how many people were there, but it was not considered one by the city. There were no vendors (anyone trying to sell soda or munchies was promptly kicked out by police or park rangers that day), concerts or anyone making money from the meet-up, so no permit was required. This is still a free country, and people are allowed to congregate in public spaces.

Dear Stoner: Can I bring edibles to a work party?
Daisy

Dear Daisy: You can give edibles away to any consenting adult over 21 in Colorado, but the workplace is a sketchy place to do it — depending on where you work. If yours is a small, intimate company with no policy against marijuana and you’re extremely comfortable with your co-workers, then maybe. Even though handing out cocktails at a work party is pretty standard, weed edibles are treated differently, and they should be. While it’s easy to measure the effects of two or three cocktails pretty quickly after drinking them, some edibles can take up to two hours to kick in, and not many people have a good gauge of their edibles tolerance. If your office is cool with you bringing space cakes for the party, I’d advise against letting people drive home after eating them — and by all means, make sure everyone knows that the treats are infused.

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