Denver Welcomes Venue For Marijuana Consumption, Diversity Ownership

DENVER (CBS4) – Residents and visitors in Denver will soon have another venue to consume marijuana legally. Denver's Department of Excise and Licensing says they saw a gap for marijuana consumers in need of a place to consume safely and responsibly.

The city just approved its first social equity hospitality license for cannabis consumption. RiNo's Tetra Lounge is paving a way for Black owners in an industry predominately dominated by white people.

According to the city, nearly 75% of business owners in Denver's cannabis industry are white.

Mayor Michael Hancock signed two bills last year to create a social equity program for marijuana licensing in Denver.

"I'm proud Denver found a way to create opportunities for women and people of color to enter to the market," said Hancock. "We still have a community that's overburdened by possession rules and arrests on their records but couldn't partake in this multi-billion-dollar industry."

Tetra Lounge received the first social equity license for marijuana consumption in the city. Tetra Lounge's owner, Dewayne Benjamin, has been active in the establishment of the license over the last two years.

"This really gives me the opportunity to benefit from all the things that cannabis has put us through as a culture. The war on drugs affected my life personally and the people around me, especially with cannabis charges blocking us out from the initial licensing process," said Benjamin.

According to the ACLU, Black people are nearly four times more likely to get arrested for marijuana possession. Racial disparities in these convictions have prevented minorities from getting licensed.

Tetra Lounge still has some final inspections to complete with the city, but they expect to be open for public consumption within two weeks. There are currently two other social equity applications still pending with the city.

"They'll go through the same rigorous inspections and compliance operations as other types of marijuana licenses to make sure they're operating safely," said Molly Duplechias, Executive Director of Denver Excise and Licensing. "We always look at other cities and states to see if there's any lessons that we can learn from anything that they've done right or anything that we would tweak. It's still a very new model and there's not a lot of places to look. So maybe once again, Denver will be a model in this area."

Hancock can already think of a market in need of a space for safe, legal consumption.

"It should be a great place for tourists because you can't smoke in your hotel room," said Hancock. The mayor also recognizes it's not just law-abiding visitors looking for a venue.

"Oftentimes, people have children home and don't want to necessarily consume at home. They need a place to go. We heard them and we felt it was important to create consumption locations and hospitality locations where they can safely enjoy their product," said Hancock.

The Coffee Joint is Denver's first licensed consumption lounge. For Black business owners in the industry like Benjamin, getting this license with city support is a milestone – professionally and personally.

"This concept is something that people in Denver have been wanting for a long time," said Benjamin. "Cannabis has been part of my culture my whole life and the people around me. Getting the opportunity to cultivate that into business, and now grow that within my community is very special to me."

Before Tetra Lounge got its license for public consumption, guests with a membership could consume marijuana legally on the premises because it was a private social club. The business has about 15,000 registered members.