{"id":6991,"date":"2016-11-19T00:16:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T00:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2226093"},"modified":"2016-11-19T00:16:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T00:16:41","slug":"bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Bars can\u2019t seek new Denver social marijuana use permits allowed by Initiative 300, state says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_2188355\" class=\"wp-caption alignright size-article_inline_half\" readability=\"51.5\"><img class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says\" alt=\"Marijuana activist Emmett Reistroffer and cannabis consultant Kayvan Khalatbari deliver signatures for a public cannabis use ballot initiative to the Denver election officials on Aug. 12. Initiative 300 would allow businesses in Denver to apply for permits to let customers bring and consume their own marijuana.\" width=\"4928\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300-state-says 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/publicuse_vc6597_08122016.jpg?w=310&#038;crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C9999px 310w\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\" readability=\"28\">\n<p>Vincent Chandler, Denver Post file<\/p>\n<p>Marijuana activist Emmett Reistroffer and cannabis consultant Kayvan Khalatbari deliver signatures for a public cannabis use ballot initiative to the Denver election officials on Aug. 12. Initiative 300 would allow businesses in Denver to apply for permits to let customers bring and consume their own marijuana.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>State licensing officials delivered a blow Friday to Denver\u2019s voter-passed Initiative 300\u00a0by announcing a new rule that will keep bars and many restaurants from applying for new social marijuana use permits.<\/p>\n<p>The new regulation starting Jan. 1 will make clear that liquor licensees cannot allow the consumption of marijuana on their premises. It greatly expands the types of businesses that likely will be disqualified from applying for the new permits for on-site marijuana consumption areas when the city makes applications available in late January, as required by Initiative 300.<\/p>\n<p>Already, licensed marijuana businesses, including dispensaries, can\u2019t allow consumption on site under state law. Now add\u00a0to that all bars and other businesses that serve alcohol, potentially including event venues.<\/p>\n<p>Some of Initiative 300\u2019s backers were caught off guard by the new rule, while others had state discussions on their radar. The Liquor Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of\u00a0Revenue developed the regulation administratively in recent months, and the department\u2019s director approved it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\"\/>\n<p>Marijuana legalization activist\u00a0Mason Tvert, who was part of the Initiative 300 campaign, said the big restriction still leaves plenty of businesses eligible to seek Denver\u2019s consumption permits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis doesn\u2019t completely hinder the entire law,\u201d he said. \u201cRemember that this whole thing kind of got started with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra fundraiser that was held in an art gallery,\u201d sparking\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/05\/13\/colorado-symphony-cannabis-concerts-will-go-on-by-invitation-only\/\">a crackdown by the city<\/a>\u00a0in 2014 because of the event\u2019s cannabis theme.<\/p>\n<p>Initiative 300, which Denver voters passed in the Nov. 8 election,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2016\/10\/14\/denver-marijuana-ballot-measure-initiative-300\/\">calls for the creation of a four-year pilot program<\/a> that allows most businesses, including\u00a0cafes and even yoga studios, to seek permits for separate cannabis consumption areas indoors or outdoors. Patrons must bring their own marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>But applicants first must win backing from a single local neighborhood or business group, giving the outside group a chance to\u00a0set operating conditions in exchange for support.<\/p>\n<p>A DOR news release said discussions that led to the new rule for liquor licensees\u00a0came up this summer during a series of annual stakeholder workshops that reviewed existing liquor regulations. The liquor industry raised concerns about consumption of marijuana at businesses that serve alcohol and \u201cthe need to expressly prohibit it,\u201d the news release says.<\/p>\n<p>Ron Kammerzell, DOR\u2019s senior director of enforcement, confirmed that the rule will keep all Denver liquor licensees from taking advantage of the voter-passed ordinance.<\/p>\n<p>But he said the prospect that Denver voters might pass Initiative 300 wasn\u2019t the major impetus.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of the new rule, including the Colorado Restaurant Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, focused more generally on how to address the prospect that bar and restaurant patrons might use marijuana with or without explicit permission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe CRA, along with many other stakeholders, expressed concerns about the public dual consumption of marijuana and alcohol,\u201d according to a statement issued by the group Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Among concerns outlined by the restaurant association: possible liability for establishments if patrons mix alcohol and marijuana consumption; a\u00a0lack of clarity for insurance companies that have indicated they wouldn\u2019t 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\u00a0Denver\u2019s new law.<\/p>\n<p>The restaurant association supported a group called\u00a0Protect Denver\u2019s Atmosphere that campaign against Initiative 300.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Denver voters <a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2016\/11\/14\/denver-social-marijuana-use-measure-wide-lead-updated-results\/\">approved Initiative 300 with 53.5 percent support<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tvert\u00a0called the new state liquor rule \u201cabsurd\u201d and suggested in an e-mail that marijuana was not as large a factor as alcohol in \u201cthe fights and rowdy behavior that plague LoDo every weekend at 2 a.m.,\u201d when bars let out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is astonishing that the Department of Revenue is so openly fighting a turf battle on behalf of the liquor industry,\u201d he said. \u201cThey seem to think it\u2019s fine for patrons of bars and concert venues to get blackout drunk, but unacceptable for them to use a far less harmful substance like marijuana instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will not prevent adults from using marijuana and alcohol at the same time, but it will ensure that the marijuana gets used out in the alley or on the street rather than inside of a private establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denver Relief Consulting\u2019s Kayvan Khalatbari, who led the Initiative 300 campaign, told\u00a0a City Council committee in a briefing before the election that a new state rule barring marijuana use in bars might bring the benefit of alleviating any perceived concerns associated with consuming cannabis at the same time as alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>The DOR\u2019s\u00a0Kammerzell said that under the new regulation, liquor licensees could fall under\u00a0scrutiny and face penalties, from a warning up to revocation of their license, if they repeatedly allow\u00a0marijuana consumption to occur.<\/p>\n<p>After last week\u2019s election, city officials are starting discussions about how to make Initiative 300 reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u00a0clearly will be taking this new rule into account as we assess how to implement 300,\u201d said Dan Rowland, a spokesman for the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State licensing officials delivered a blow Friday to Denver&#8217;s Initiative 300 with a new rule that will keep bars and many restaurants from applying for social marijuana use permits. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,6811,6861,6813,77,5577,9,5019,441,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[5063,6816,6862,6818,2655,5580,5022,3015],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6991\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}