Understanding Recreational Marijuana in Colorado

The debate over whether or not marijuana should be legal continues, despite more and more states legalizing it. Since there are many misconceptions about what you can and cannot do with it, I thought I would clear a few things up for you.

You can't smoke in public

Period. Ever. Not in your car, at the bus stop or train depot or airport. Can't do it. Thinking about sparking one up at the restaurant? No, not there either. And if you think it might be chill to light up a joint while casually strolling down the street, that won't work. Look at it this way. If you can't smoke a cigarette at a place, you can't smoke weed. And walking down the street with a lit joint in your mouth is just as bad as walking down the street with an open can of beer. Not cool, not legal.

Not all dispensaries are open to everyone

Despite the fact that recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, there are some dispensaries that cater only to the medical marijuana patient. And those dispensaries are closed to the general public. In order to shop at a medical dispensary, you have to have a Colorado medical marijuana card. The product here addresses specific needs patients have and, in many cases, are higher in THC levels than recreational marijuana.

You can smoke in your home

Home is the one place you won't have to worry about getting hassled for smoking marijuana. But, you want to make sure your landlord is cool with it. Just because it's legal doesn't mean you're allowed to smoke at your residence. Nothing could be more of a buzzkill than finding out you can't smoke where you live, either. Have a discussion with your landlord and see if it's allowable there.

The future of recreational marijuana

So where is this reefer madness heading? Is the law ever going to be repealed? Will we have marijuana consumption friendly businesses?

These are all good questions, and some simply have no answers. I don't believe the law will ever be repealed, and unless smoking restrictions within businesses are relaxed, I can't see consumption friendly businesses popping up, but time will tell. Already, those with an entrepreneurial spirit have found a few ways to enjoy smoking bud without breaking the law. Pot tours in Denver are becoming more popular, as you will see in the video below. Smoking inside the covered vehicle, where it can't be seen, seems to be acceptable, and by touring the various shops in Denver you can get a good idea what you would like to try. Painting classes held in a home encourage smokers to get high and create. Can we have those types of things in Grand Junction? Certainly, we could. And ultimately will.

There are many ideas you can come up with to take advantage of the legalization of the herb. Just make sure you're not breaking any laws and you, too, could be featured in a video.