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Denver, Colorado, Public Marijuana Use in Designated Areas, Initiated Ordinance 300 (November 2016)
| Denver Public Marijuana Use in Designated Areas Initiative |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local marijuana |
| Related articles |
| Local marijuana on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in Colorado Denver County, Colorado ballot measures |
| See also |
| Denver, Colorado Using local measures to advance national agendas Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Amendment 64 (2012) |
An initiative to allow designated areas for public consumption of marijuana was on the ballot for voters in Denver, Colorado, on November 8, 2016.[1] It was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported temporarily allowing most businesses to establish certain designated areas or designated venues in which marijuana could be consumed. |
| A "no" vote opposed allowing such designated areas for public consumption of marijuana. |
Election results
| Initiated Ordinance 300 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 168,995 | 53.57% | ||
| No | 146,446 | 46.43% | ||
- Election results from Denver City and County election results
Aftermath
Following approval of the initiative in November 2016, the city of Denver granted the first business license to allow public consumption of marijuana on February 26, 2018. Local business The Coffee Joint described itself as "Denver’s first social consumption club & coffee house" and stated that patrons would be able to consume their own edible marijuana products or to vape with a $5 entry fee.[2][3]
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question on the ballot is as follows:[4]
| “ |
Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance that creates a cannabis consumption pilot program where: the City and County of Denver (the “City”) may permit a business or a person with evidence of support of an eligible neighborhood association or business improvement district to allow the consumption of marijuana (“cannabis”) in a designated consumption area; such associations or districts may set forth conditions on the operation of a designated consumption area, including permitting or restricting concurrent uses, consumptions, or services offered, if any; the designated consumption area is limited to those over the age of twenty-one, must comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, may overlap with any other type of business or licensed premise, and cannot be located within 1000 feet of a school; a designated consumption area that is located outside cannot be visible from a public right-of-way or a place where children congregate; the City shall create a task force to study the impacts of cannabis consumption permits on the city; the City may enact additional regulations and ordinances to further regulate designated consumption areas that are not in conflict with this ordinance; and the cannabis consumption pilot program expires on December 31, 2020 or earlier if the City passes comprehensive regulations governing cannabis consumption?[5] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Support
The coalition behind this initiative was backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, the Vicente Sederberg law firm, and various business owners including some of the supporters of a withdrawn 2015 initiative.
Opposition
The Denver Post published an editorial arguing that marijuana consumption at public venues could bring marijuana use into areas near children, schools, or drug treatment facilities. They also stated that marijuana clubs and lounges could violate state laws prohibiting public marijuana consumption.[6]
Background
2015 "Social Marijuana" Initiative
A different group of marijuana activists circulated a similar initiative in 2015, but they withdrew the measure before it was put on the November 2015 ballot, stating that they would look to the city council for a more collaborative approach.[7]
Polls
Survey about 2015 initiative
Public Polling Policy released a poll of 629 likely Denver voters conducted in mid-June 2015. A question in the survey asked about respondents' positions on the 2015 "Social Marijuana Consumption" initiative designed legalize pot clubs and lounges. The results showed a 56 percent majority in favor of allowing marijuana consumption at commercial venues, with 40 percent opposed and 5 percent unsure.[8]
| Denver "Social Marijuana Consumption Initiative" Poll[8] | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Strongly support | Somewhat support | Strongly oppose | Somewhat oppose | Unsure | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||
| Public Polling Policy June 12-15, 2015 | 20% | 36% | 31% | 9% | 5% | +/-Unknown | 629 | ||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Path to the ballot
To put this initiative on the ballot for an election on November 8, 2016, petitioners needed to gather and submit about 4,726 valid signatures within 180 days of getting approval of the initial initiative petition filing. In Denver, signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for mayoral candidates in the preceding mayoral election are required to put an initiative before voters. The group behind this initiative officially started the process in mid-July 2016 and succeeded in collecting the required number of signatures..[9][10]
Related measures
Statewide
Colorado Proposition AA, Taxes on the Sale of Marijuana (2013)
Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Amendment 64 (2012)
Colorado Marijuana TABOR Refund Measure, Proposition BB (2015)
2016 Local
2016 marijuana-related local measures are listed below:
• Measure 10-143: Douglas County Recreational Marijuana - Oregon 
• Measure 18-105: Klamath County Marijuana Sales Referendum - Oregon
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative - Alaska
• Measure 12-58: Grant County Marijuana Legalization Initiative - Oregon
• Measure 10-144: Douglas County Medical Marijuana - Oregon
• Denver Private Marijuana Club Initiative - Colorado 
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Denver Public Marijuana Use Initiated Ordinance 300. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NORML, "Denver NORML Announces Marijuana Lounge Initiative," January 25, 2016
- ↑ The Coffee Joint, "About us." Accessed March 2, 2018
- ↑ Forbes, "Colorado Is Finally Getting Its First Cannabis Club," February 27, 2018
- ↑ Denvery County Elections, "Sample Ballot, City and County of Denver, General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed September 27, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Public pot plan is a step too far," June 22, 2015
- ↑ The Weed Blog, "Denver Campaign For Limited Social Cannabis Use To Withdraw Initiative," September 3, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: Totals add up to 101 percent because of rounding methods.
- ↑ NORML, "Denver NORML Files Marijuana Social Use Initiative For 2016 City Ballot," February 29, 2016
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Denver voters could decide on new places to smoke pot come November," July 5, 2016
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