Why Is It So Hard to Open a Marijuana Smoking Lounge?
Why Is It So Hard to Open a Marijuana Smoking Lounge?
After another public vote, and ensuing lengthy and arduous debate between lawmakers and business owners, Denver began accepting applications from businesses hoping for “social consumption” licenses in August. As Westword noted, many hopefuls had their dreams dashed even before they could apply. Businesses wishing to allow adults to smoke weed had to abide by a host of rules, including receiving widespread approval from the neighbors. They also couldn’t serve alcohol.
Thus, Rita Tsalyuk earned the distinction of Denver’s first social-lounge applicant when she submitted her paperwork in December. Tsalyuk, a real-estate professional, also owns the 1136 Yuma recreational dispensary next door to the future Coffee Joint. So far, it appears she’s checking all the boxes. She’s in a non-residential area, far away from parks and schools, several of the requirements of Initiative 300, the ballot measure that legalized (but has yet to lead to any) smoking lounges in Denver.
As she told the Times, a public hearing on her application should happen within the next few weeks. If that goes well, The Coffee Joint could open by the spring — and it would have the distinction of the very first dedicated, licensed and permitted public cannabis consumption area in America.
