Denver City Council Finance Committee Approves Bill To Allow Marijuana Delivery And Allow Smoking On Site

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver's marijuana rules are one step closer to a major change. The committee approved two bills to the full City Council that would rewrite the city's rules surrounding the sale and accessibility of marijuana.

The proposed city laws would eliminate cultivation and sale location caps, potentially making dispensaries much more numerous and accessible. It would also create a social equity application program, giving exclusive opportunities to people who meet certain criteria. Those criteria include people who have been arrested, convicted, and had their civil assets forfeited connected to a marijuana-related offense. Social equity applications are also open to those who live in low-income communities, and whose income is lower than that set by the state Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Another major change to the city's law would be the allowance of delivery of medical or retail marijuana to private residences. Dispensaries would apply for a permit to allow delivery to homes between 8:00 a.m. and midnight. Customer's IDs would be scanned at the delivery site. Delivery drivers would be required to carry and display their permits with them at all times while making deliveries. Caps would be set at $5,000 worth of retail cannabis. Deliveries would also be capped at one per person per household per day.

Caps on cultivation sites would also be removed, with limitations remaining on sites within 1,000 feet of schools or residential districts as zoned by the city.

The last major change proposed in the bills is the allowance of consumption of marijuana on site, including smoking.

The Colorado Department of Revenue reports that the state has seen $10.2 billion in overall marijuana sales since legalization.

The bills will be introduced to the full city council, though an introduction date has not yet been set.