How Long Before Cannabis Lounges Come To The Grand Valley?

Denver has its first smoking lounge. The Grand Valley next?

Monday the city of Denver issued its first license that allows marijuana use on its premises. A place called The Coffee Joint will charge $5 "cover charge" that allows patrons to consume their own cannabis in edible or vapor form.

It wasn't exactly easy. Owners had to get the local neighborhood to agree, apply for the permit, and pay the fees but its official, The Coffee Joint "Cannabis Entertainment & Educational Center" is now the first such lounge in Colorado. This social-use program was approved by voters back in 2016 but just now getting things rolling. Businesses that sell alcohol are barred from obtaining the cannabis use permit.

Denver's program is the nations first of its kind. Other legal weed states have entertained the idea, none have yet approved such a program. Denver received its second social-use license application earlier in February when The Utopia All Natural Wellness Spa and Lounge made the request. This place plans to offer cannabis-infused massages, pot yoga and a variety of weed-friendly events.

Now that the smoking lounge idea is a Colorado reality, how long before someone opens a simular type of store on the western slope?

Credit: Forbes