A bipartisan Colorado bill that would have allowed marijuana businesses to have “accessory consumption establishments,” or tasting rooms, won’t become law. Gov. John Hickenlooper said he vetoed the bill for public safety and health reasons, reports the Colorado Springs Independent. The bill would have authorized both medical marijuana centers and retail stores to have one tasting room where customers could sample edible or vaping products. Currently, there are no legal places in Colorado to consume marijuana outside of a private home, making it difficult for renters, out-of-state tourists, and parents with young children to enjoy dispensary purchases.
That may have contributed to a 471 percent increase in citations for public cannabis consumption in the first three quarters of 2014. In compliance with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, customers would not have been allowed to smoke. Products would have had to be consumed on business premises. The bill passed the Senate in late April with a 22-12 vote, and the House in early May with a 57-8 vote. Despite the large margin of approval, Hickenlooper said he was “concerned that marijuana use at consumption establishments could result in additional impaired or intoxicated drivers on our roadways.” He added that vaping in a confined space “poses a significant health risk for employees and patrons of consumption establishments,” and said he feared “an unintended effect … is the further normalization of marijuana use in the eyes of youth.” Terrapin Care Station, a retail marijuana business, said the veto “ensures continued gray market activity when it comes to public consumption … It also ensures that people will continue to smoke cannabis in unregulated indoor clubs … a strange choice for a governor who has been adamant that public consumption should not include smoking.”