Bad news for Denverites eager to legally smoke a joint in a bar: State licensing officials have squashed that dream.
Voter-approved Initiative 300 will allow businesses to get permits for social marijuana use, just not any business that also has a liquor license, the Denver Post reports.
The passing of Initiative 300 will create a four-year pilot program allowing businesses -- say, a café or an art gallery that wants to host a hazy performance by the Colorado Symphony -- to get permits for cannabis use on their property if patrons bring their own.
This new regulation excluding businesses that serve alcohol was being developed even before Election Day by the Liquor Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Of course, one of the biggest concerns behind this regulation is the potential for trouble when people mix pot and booze, or as your teen cousin calls it, getting cross-faded.
There are also issues with "a lack of clarity for insurance companies that have indicated they wouldn’t insure restaurants and bars that allow pot use on site; and potential confusion for customers, business owners and police if bars and restaurants adopt a patchwork of policies toward marijuana use, perhaps by opting in to Denver’s new law," the Post's Jon Murray reports.
Read his full story for a deeper dive into the new regulation.
