Pubdate: Tue, 01 Jan 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Electa Draper

TWO NEW JOINTS TEST POT LAW

A Private Club and Den Open Doors to Smokers and Possible
Penalties.

Until further notice - from somewhere - enterprising cannabis
enthusiasts assume it's OK to hang out to consume weed in social, yet
sort of private, recreational settings.

Billed as Denver's first legal private cannabis club, Club 64, met for
the first time at 4:20 p.m. Monday at a Larimer Street retail store.

"We will probably go until New Year's and a little after. There will
probably be some cannabis," Club 64 general counsel Robert Corry Jr.
said as the party began.

And, in tiny Del Norte in southern Colorado, a private marijuana den
attached to the White Horse Inn coffee and head shop along U.S. 160
opened late Monday morning.

Amendment 64won voter approval in November and made it legal in
Colorado for people 21 and older to possess 1 ounce of marijuana, grow
up to six marijuana plants and give marijuana to another adult.

But Coloradans can't smoke or consume marijuana publicly and openly,
according to the law.

They can smoke or ingest pot at home and, as Corry and White Horse Inn
owner Paul Lovato are assuming, they can also do so inside private
marijuana-friendly businesses or settings.

"Nothing in the amendment language permits consuming (marijuana)
openly and publicly," said Mark Couch, spokesman for the state Task
Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64.

The rules on any clubs or lounges, Couch said, "will be sorted out in
the months ahead by legislators, law enforcement and the task force."

Couch suggested law enforcement should be contacted for
clarification.

Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the department would have
to consult with city attorneys. Denver Assistant City Attorney David
Broadwell said he had no comment, except the city awaits further
guidance from the state.

State Attorney General Office spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler said the task
force should be asked questions related to implementation of Amendment
64.

Denver's district attorney won't weigh in until a specific case is
brought by law enforcement, said spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.

Legal recreational marijuana sales can be made only through licensed
pot shops, which would not be licensed until June or opened until
October, Couch said.

Meanwhile, celebrations were afoot at Club 64, a chartered
members-only club devoted to the use of cannabis.

Club 64's meeting locations, Corry said, will be disclosed to members
only through its website, Club-64.com. Corry said the club will run on
private membership fees and could sell refreshments-not cannabis.

Corry said the website went live Sunday night, and by the time the
ribbon was cut on the first meeting of the club, more than 100 people
had become members. Online, they paid $30. At the door, the fee was
$50.

"We're making it safe for people," Corry said. "There are a lot of
people who, for one reason or another, can't smoke at home."

People might not want to smoke near children, he said. They might have
a disapproving spouse. They might live in a rental home where it's
prohibited.

"People are social by nature," said Chloe Villano, a Club 64 principal
whose Cloverleaf Business Solutions consults with medical marijuana
businesses. "It's important at this time to provide a safe place for
them to associate and celebrate this new freedom."

Lovato originally had planned to open his shop at midnight New Year's
Eve but instead opened Monday morning. He wanted to be the state's
first business dedicated to recreational marijuana consumption - and
his place is open to anyone of age.

Lovato also originally had planned to make the business a hash
bar/coffee shop, where a small quantity of marijuana would be given as
a gift to customers who purchased a $15-$20 cup of coffee because, so
far, no one is licensed to sell pot.

However, he decided against doing that, he said, because he didn't
want to abuse the law.

"I didn't want to spit in the face of the government that was letting
me do this," Lovato said. "I'm not going to push the boundary, you
know. But I think I can legally give it away free."

The business model here, said Lovato, a former luxury RV salesman, is
that he will have patrons aplenty to smoke his free samples in a
private building he leases next to his commercial building, where they
can buy coffee drinks, T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, pipes and
other paraphernalia.

"I should have people lining up for this," said Lovato, who moved from
Denver to Del Norte specifically to create this niche business there.

"This is my opportunity," Lovato said. "This will get me where I want
to be in life."

If state or city authorities shut down private cannabis clubs after
Monday, Corry said, Club 64 should be grandfathered in. Lovato
expressed the same thought about his business.

"But we hope there will be imitators," Corry said. "My view is let a
thousand flowers bloom." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D