It’s been a long road in Colorado when it comes to marijuana reform – and that road isn’t quite finished just yet. Mid-summer last year Denver residents decided it was time to launch a social use initiative campaign – in hopes of having marijuana smoking allowed in clubs and bars.
The initiative was going strong and had quite a lot of support from the get-go. One of the biggest reasons that all of Colorado, but particularly Denver, needs to have some place to smoke marijuana in public is because the tourists have nowhere to take it.
While the main reason that they need some sort of legislature passed allowing cannabis clubs is because of the tourism that the 420 friendly state has attracted, it will also be very beneficial to the residents as well.
People want to have the freedom to go out and be in a social setting while smoking a blunt or a bowl. They want marijuana to be treated like alcohol in the respect that it is socially acceptable. After all, for the first time in decades you can legally purchase and smoke marijuana, but that right is still hidden away in people’s homes.
After a couple of months of gathering signatures and getting ready to put this initiative on the ballots come November, the group decided to withdraw the petition. The reason for this? Well the local government had decided to step in and say they agreed that something needed to be done.
At the time, it was only the Colorado Restaurant Association and the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association who were talking about helping to make this a reality. However, the progress was significant enough that they decided to put a hold on following through to the elections.
For the first time, this issue was being taken seriously by city officials and business people who could help make this a reality in no time. Things went quiet however and we hadn’t heard much about moving forward, making us think perhaps it was time to revive the initiative.
But then the Mayor of Denver, Michael Hancock, has finally admitted is open to the idea of cannabis clubs and cafes in Denver.
“When you start looking at what the users are doing, whether they are visitors, walking up and down the mall and smoking in our parks, you recognize if someone doesn’t have a residence here that they have got to have an outlet. I haven’t said, ‘Yes.’ But I have said, ‘Give me more information.’” –Denver Mayor Michael Hancock
That’s a good sign that things will be able to move forward without the need to bring it to the voters. If it takes city officials to long to come up with an agreeable solution however, we may still see the voters get their say – for now it’s too soon to tell, but either way it’s looking up for social use of marijuana in Denver!
