Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jul 2015
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2015 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Kristen Wyatt, the Associated Press

DENVER CAMPAIGN WANTS POT IN BARS

DENVER (AP) - Beer? Wine? Or weed?

A campaign is under way to ask Denver voters about allowing marijuana 
consumption in bars and other places that only permit people over 21. 
Activists who campaigned for recreational pot legalization in 
Colorado have launched a petition drive to allow what they call 
"limited social marijuana consumption" at bars.

The activists need about 5,000 signatures to get the question on 
November ballots.

It would let bars or clubs allow marijuana use as long as patrons 
bring their own weed and comply with cleanair laws. That means the 
pot they consume would have to be edible, or if smoked, consumed on 
an outside patio the way cigarette smoking is regulated now. Outdoor 
smoking sites would have to be shielded from public view.

"Marijuana's now a legal product for adults in Denver, and it's 
really time that we give adults a place to use it legally and 
socially," said Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado's 2012 campaign to 
legalize recreational pot. "We shouldn't be requiring that you sit at 
home if you choose to use marijuana as an adult."

Colorado law prohibits recreational pot consumption "openly and 
publicly or in a manner that endangers others." It does not, however, 
bar against consumption in private over-21 clubs. The Denver measure 
would clarify what counts as a private club.

Pot dispensaries are banned from allowing on-site use of the products 
they sell, and from selling alcohol or food that doesn't contain pot. 
The Denver proposal would allow only bring-your-own consumption.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom