Almost a decade after Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, Colorado continues to be a leader in innovative legislation regarding the marijuana industry. The City of Denver in particular is leading the way in progressive regulations concerning marijuana retailers and consumption. For instance, after the state legislature passed a bill in 2019 allowing municipalities to issue delivery licenses to both medical and recreational marijuana businesses, Denver became the first and so far only municipality to opt into this program, aptly doing so on April 20th, 2021.
Denver Is Paving the Way
Under the new regulations adopted by the City of Denver on April 20th, 2021, marijuana businesses in Denver can apply for a license that would allow them to deliver their products directly to their customers’ doors. In addition to allowing for delivery, the new Denver regulations softens the ban on social smoking, potentially paving the way for indoor consumption at smoking lounges or other businesses, and allows for marijuana businesses to install permanent drive through windows.
Modernizing the Cannabis Industry
These new regulations will provide customers and businesses multiple new ways to shop, interact and connect. After the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 massively disrupted any consumer’s ability to shop in store, the necessity for different ways to be able to purchase marijuana became overwhelmingly clear. While other types of retail business were able to shift the focus of their business to online selling or delivery services during the pandemic, marijuana retailers were prevented from doing so by outdated regulations. We are glad that the Colorado State Legislature, and the City of Denver, recognized this need to modernize the marijuana industry in Colorado, and we hope that more municipalities join Denver soon in allowing for alternative methods to shop for and purchase marijuana.