Pueblo City Council not interested in allowing marijuana delivery, lounges for now
While Pueblo County was home to some of the first recreational marijuana dispensaries that opened in 2014, most Pueblo city councilors are hesitant to allow additional types of cannabis businesses in the city, for now.
A few other Colorado municipalities have allowed delivery, pedestrian pick-up and consumption lounges, but most Pueblo city councilors indicated Monday evening that they’re not interested in allowing additional weed businesses, at least not before reviewing additional data.
Some also indicated that they would be interested in lowering regulatory fees that are higher than other municipalities, but Regina Maestri said that council should look at the “ill effects” of marijuana on the community before moving forward.
Council discussed the city’s options after a presentation from Assistant City Attorney Trevor Gloss, who discussed the state of marijuana businesses in Pueblo and the additional types of cannabis businesses that state rules allow but council would need to approve.
Pueblo 'not ready' for Marijuana lounges, most of council says
A few cannabis consumption lounges have opened in and around Denver, but they are still rare across the state.
Gloss said that only Adams County and Denver have allowed marijuana hospitality businesses: Adams County is capped at five licenses and Denver is limited to social equity applicants for the next five years.
“Local jurisdictions are definitely hesitant: this is something completely new,” Gloss said. “Marijuana public consumption is generally prohibited, aside from this very limited exception, and they kind of want to see how everyone else is going to do it first — how it's going to be implemented.”
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There are two kinds of licensed hospitality businesses defined under state law: one where customers bring their own cannabis, and another where customers could purchase product onsite. The customers would be limited to two grams of marijuana flower or a half-gram of concentrate each day.
Mayor Nick Gradisar said that the discussion of hospitality lounges came up in early 2020 when discussing how approximately half of cannabis customers come from outside of Pueblo.
“I think we're deluding ourselves if we think that people are not consuming (marijuana) publicly, or they're not going to consume it in their cars when they buy it in Pueblo, so these hospitality suites were an alternative,” Gradisar said.
Councilmember Vicente Martinez Ortega was the only councilor to say that the consumption lounges were “worth looking into” — others indicated that Pueblo “isn’t ready for hospitality lounges,” as Heather Graham said.
Marijuana delivery would come with various regulations
Under state regulations, cannabis delivery is allowed for both medical and retail stores, which need to get a special permit that is renewed annually. Each delivery has a $1 surcharge that would go to the city to fund police efforts related to marijuana enforcement.
Drivers would need to get special training required by the state and inspect identification to verify that recipients are at least 21 years old.
Colorado cannabis consumers are already limited to purchasing up to 2 ounces of medical marijuana or 1 ounce of retail weed per day. Deliveries would also adhere to the same product limits and only be allowed once per day to a specific individual at a private residence.
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The state also regulates the delivery vehicles: they need to have a real-time tracking system and ample security, the vehicle cannot have any graphics on the outside and marijuana cannot be visible from outside, Gloss said.
Delivery is allowed in a few other municipalities around the state — Denver requires additional license fees for permits to the existing state fees. Boulder and Denver only allow medical marijuana, while Superior allows deliveries while also prohibiting stores within city limits. Aurora also allows delivery to city residents.
Walk-ups and drive-ups allowed in only three Colorado municipalities
Allowing customers to walk or drive up to dispensaries was originally allowed by the state during the COVID-19 pandemic and officially allowed in January 2021.
But cities need to take action to allow walk-up and drive-through service. They are not allowed in the city of Pueblo and won’t be unless the city takes action to do so.
Only three other municipalities in the state allow walk- and drive-up marijuana sales: Denver, Dillon and Parachute, Gloss said.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo City Council not interested in allowing marijuana delivery, lounges for now
