{"id":9428,"date":"2021-08-26T12:51:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T12:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=4722671"},"modified":"2021-08-26T12:51:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T12:51:33","slug":"marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana tourism is evolving in Aurora and Denver with legal tour buses, lounges"},"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\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2021\/08\/26\/marijuana-pot-colorado-consumption-lounges-bus-aurora-denver\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"4722671\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Aurora flung open the doors on the next \u2014 and perhaps final \u2014 frontier in the world of legal cannabis in Colorado, giving initial approval this week for smoking lounges, tasting rooms and tour buses filled with stoned customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see this as a game-changer for the industry,\u201d said Victoria Osler, an Aurora entrepreneur who plans to roll out a \u201cparty bus\u201d called Dreamy Illusions, complete with a stripper pole, thumping music, strobe lights and, of course, mobile consumption.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will be able to consume cannabis on the party bus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The Aurora City Council\u2019s final vote on new cannabis hospitality regulations \u2014 with tourism top of mind \u2014 is expected Sept. 13; Monday\u2019s initial vote was 6-3 in favor.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s third-largest city would be following in the footsteps of neighboring Denver, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2021\/04\/12\/denver-weed-delivery-marijuana-city-council\/\">passed similar rules in April<\/a> but won\u2019t start taking applications for licenses until the fall. If Aurora\u2019s ordinance passes, the city could start issuing licenses as soon as October.<\/p>\n<p>Denver and Aurora are among the first cities in Colorado to adopt on-site and mobile cannabis consumption, according to Truman Bradley, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, and the new rules mark what could be the rollout of the final phase of pot legalization in the state.<\/p>\n<p>According to CannaCon, which puts on cannabis expos across the country, <a href=\"https:\/\/cannacon.org\/consumption-lounge-updates\/\">seven U.S. states<\/a> \u2014 including California, Nevada and New York \u2014 have passed laws or are considering legislation allowing gathering places for weed users.<\/p>\n<p>Sales of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/01\/01\/worlds-first-legal-recreational-marijuana-sales-begin-in-colorado\/\">recreational marijuana in Colorado began in 2014<\/a>, after voters passed Amendment 64. But its prohibition on public pot consumption has <a href=\"https:\/\/theknow-old.denverpost.com\/2019\/12\/27\/denver-places-to-smoke-weed-public\/229247\/\">muddied the legal landscape<\/a> for those wanting to open places where people can light up or vape just after buying.<\/p>\n<p>Police in Denver even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2015\/04\/20\/undercover-raids-denver-police-cite-10-in-pot-clubs-on-420-weekend\/\">raided several pot clubs in 2015<\/a> on April 20, the high holy day for cannabis enthusiasts worldwide. In 2019, the state legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/03\/31\/colorados-marijuana-bills\/\">passed a law allowing the establishment of marijuana hospitality spaces<\/a>, which cities can opt into.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAurora <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/12\/07\/aurora-marijuana-delivery-social-equity\/\">embraced delivery<\/a> and is now embracing hospitality,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cI see this as another example of the end of reefer madness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Osler said she is entering the cannabis market under the <a href=\"https:\/\/sbg.colorado.gov\/social-equity\">state\u2019s social equity protocols<\/a>, which reserves licenses for members of communities that have for decades been disproportionately prosecuted for marijuana crimes \u2014 especially communities of color.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSocial equity has definitely opened a lot of doors to minorities that were affected by the war on drugs,\u201d said Osler, who is Black.<\/p>\n<p>Aurora\u2019s rules would allow pot lounges, either in brick and mortar form or on wheels. Depending on the business, customers could purchase marijuana at the location or bring their own. Both smoking and vaping would be allowed under Aurora\u2019s ordinance, and businesses could remain open until 10 p.m.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4724418\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges.jpg\" width=\"8192\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS007.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS007.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS007.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS007.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>Kevin Mohatt, Special to The Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Rows of cannabis plants grow at Bud Fox Enterprises in Aurora on August 25, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But businesses would have to keep that consumption from being visible from the street, and would have to put in place odor mitigation measures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can be in a public place as long as you can\u2019t smell it or see it,\u201d said Robin Peterson, manager of Aurora\u2019s Marijuana Enforcement Division.<\/p>\n<p>Mobile venues would have to have a partition separating the driver from the passengers \u2014 and their pot smoke \u2014 as well as separate filter systems for both the front and back of the bus. The cannabis buses won\u2019t be allowed to stop outside schools, hospitals or in-patient substance abuse facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Eymer, owner and founder of Colorado Cannabis Tours, said he\u2019s ready to apply for licenses in both Denver and Aurora. His company, with three buses and two SUVs carting marijuana fans around town for the last seven years, has operated in what he describes as a legal \u201cgray area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hospitality laws give the sector transparency and legitimacy, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were those folks asking to be regulated,\u201d Eymer said. \u201cThis is the beginning of the final phase of (marijuana) normalization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a day Mark Prescott has been waiting for a long time. Prescott owns Bud Fox Supply Co., an Aurora grow operation where he hopes to open a cannabis tasting room as soon as he can. Bud Fox received the first hospitality license from the state three weeks ago, Prescott said.<\/p>\n<p>He has submitted architectural renderings to the city, and had inspectors out at his business.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4724406\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges-1.jpg\" width=\"7774\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges-1.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marijuana-tourism-is-evolving-in-aurora-and-denver-with-legal-tour-buses-lounges-1.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS002.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS002.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS002.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AURORA-CANNABIS002.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>Kevin Mohatt, Special to The Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Renderings display what the proposed tasting room will look like at Bud Fox Enterprises in Aurora on August 25, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>\u201cWe have an awesome lobby that is the perfect size for a tasting room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The new facility will be attached to Bud Fox\u2019s dispensary and nursery, and Prescott envisions dispensary owners from around the metro area visiting his business to try different strains of weed that they may want to purchase for resale.<\/p>\n<p>Bradley, the head of the Marijuana Industry Group, said he thinks the innovation in the industry will lead to more than just pot lounges and weed sports bars, where \u201cpeople are just sitting around smoking pot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He envisions tours where marijuana is paired with food or offered as part of a painting class.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to see business models that don\u2019t exist right now in this country,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cIt\u2019s incumbent on us to do a good job with these new business models. Other cities are watching, other states are watching.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Aurora is eyeing the next &#8212; and perhaps final &#8212; frontier in the world of legal cannabis in Colorado, giving initial approval this week for smoking lounges, tasting rooms and tour buses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7095,7509,52,6811,376,6813,77,5577,6815,7280,6858,9,5019,8082,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[7096,7511,2632,6816,2954,6818,2655,5580,6820,7283,6860,5022,8083],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9428"}],"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=9428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}