A Denver coffee shop received city approval Monday for the nation’s first business license to allow marijuana use by patrons under a 2016 voter-approved initiative, reports the Denver Post.
The Coffee Joint soon can allow customers age 21 or older to vape or consume edibles they bring to the cafe, which is already open at 1130 Yuma Court, just east of Interstate 25 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. But the shop will not allow any smoking, which is allowed only outdoors under state law, and can’t sell any marijuana products on site.
The owners of the shop, which has ownership ties to a dispensary next door, had been expecting official approval after a public license hearing Feb. 9 drew no opposition. Now co-owner Rita Tsalyuk is eager to allow consumption sometime in the next couple weeks, pending building and safety inspections, along with a schedule of yoga classes and educational and art events.
“Tons of people already came in,” she said. “We’re offering free coffee and sneak previews” of the shop.
Approved by 54 percent of Denver voters in November 2016, Initiative 300 resulted in the availability of the first-of-its-kind cannabis consumption establishment license under a pilot program.
Colorado marijuana shops raked in a record $1.51 billion sales of medical and recreational cannabis, edibles and concentrate products during 2017, according to Colorado Department of Revenue. And in 2017, in Aspen, CO, marijuana sales exceeded liquor sales for the first time ever.
