Voting is over, and the results are in. Read on to find out how cannabis initiatives fared in this year’s Colorado elections.

Colorado

Colorado voters rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have increased the sales tax on recreational marijuana. Proposition 119 would have increased recreational marijuana sales tax by 5 percent to fund private after-school and tutoring programs. The initiative failed by 54.41 percent to 45.59 percent.

Peter Marcus, a spokesman for Boulder-based cannabis company Terrapin, said Proposition 119 was a “misguided policy.”

“Despite being significantly outspent by proponents, Colorado voters still soundly rejected using cannabis as a piggy bank for out-of-state special interest projects. Coloradans understand that lawmakers struck an appropriate balance when they planned for cannabis taxes. Disrupting that system would only set successful regulation back. We can’t balance the state budget and education on the backs of cannabis consumers; we need long-term solutions that address structural deficiencies,” Marcus said after Proposition 119’s defeat.

Denver

In Denver, another marijuana sales tax increase was on the ballot. Initiative 300 would have increased the recreational cannabis sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research at the University of Colorado Denver City Center.

“Denver voters recognized that this measure — funded by an out-of-town billionaire — taxes people’s pain relief to pay for a random, pandemic preparation program that has no accountability, no oversight, no specific solutions, no connection to the marijuana industry and no relationship to core city services. We are hopeful that the city’s business community will oppose any future efforts to increase taxes on the Denver cannabis industry just as they would for any other industry in the city,” Chuck Smith of the cannabis business organization Colorado Leads told Westword.

An out-of-state special interest group funded the initiative, and CU Denver was not involved in getting the measure on the ballot. The vote was no/against the initiative by 60.35 percent to 39.65 percent.

Golden, Westminster, and Brighton

By a slim 58.68 percent to 49.60 percent margin, voters in Golden decided to lift the moratorium on recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city. Cannabis cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing are still a no-no in city limits. Still, marijuana sales will finally be a reality in Golden after the city council drafts and implements rules.

However, it doesn’t look like adult-use marijuana dispensaries will be coming to Westminster anytime soon. Despite voting “yes” on allowing retail marijuana in the city by 53 percent, voters said “no” to a separate tax measure tied to the initiative.

Brighton was a definite “no” on repealing the ban on recreational marijuana sales. Voters rejected the measure by 53 percent.

Lakewood

Lakewood’s sales tax on recreational marijuana will remain at 19.6 percent after voters rejected a measure to increase the tax rate by an additional 5 percent. If the initiative had passed, the City of Lakewood would have been able to increase the tax on adult-use marijuana by up to 10 percent without further voter approval.

Mead, Lamar, and Wellington

It turns out that 3 wasn’t a magic number in Mead, where voters rejected a ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales for the third time since 2013. 61 percent of voters rejected the measure.

There was better cannabis election news in Lamar, where voters approved two marijuana-related measures. 54 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2B, legalizing recreational marijuana sales. 55 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2A for a 5 percent local tax on adult-use cannabis sales.

In Wellington, the vote on Initiative 2B is still too close to call. As in, a 3-vote difference too close to call. The initiative would allow medical and recreational sales in Wellington. With a total of 3,341 votes counted so far, 1,672 voters said “yes,” while 1,669 voters said “no” to the measure.

However, it’s not so close when it comes to Initiative 300, the vote on whether to implement a 3.5 percent sales tax on adult-use marijuana purchases. The initiative looks like it will pass, with 231 “yes” votes in the lead.

Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but there’s a slew of marijuana-related initiatives on the ballot this year.

Colorado

Statewide, Colorado voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax on recreational marijuana to fund after-school and tutoring programs for low-income and underserved youth.

Proposition 119, also known as the State Learning and Academic Progress Initiative (Leap), would give families earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a yearly stipend of $1,500 for after-school programs. Supporters of the initiative say the money would help close income-related learning gaps, which have been particularly exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic.

If the initiative is approved, it will raise marijuana taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent. Local governments add their own marijuana sales and industry taxes, so the tax on recreational marijuana would go from 26.4 percent to 31.4 percent in Denver.

The state’s largest teachers union, the Colorado Education Association, initially supported the initiative. However, they withdrew their support and adopted a neutral stance over oversight issues and a lack of information about how the program would be implemented. In particular, they noted that the program may not be as accessible for rural students and that it funnels money toward private, for-profit programs while doing nothing to fund public schools.

State marijuana proponents oppose the ballot measure, arguing that increasing an already hefty tax on recreational marijuana could push people to the black market, as well as detract from social equity initiatives.

Denver

In Denver, voters will decide whether to increase the recreational marijuana sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research. Initiative 300 would raise around $7 million annually to fund the University of Colorado Denver CityCenter for research.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock opposes the initiative. On Facebook, he wrote, “While we continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, adding a cost burden to just Denver voters seems unfair. Let’s rely on our national research institutions to do this work and share the responsibility more broadly than just Denver taxpayers.”

The initiative was sponsored by a Delaware-registered advocacy group, Guarding Against Pandemics. The University of Colorado was not involved in the initiative, and they don’t have any plan on how to use the funds.

Golden, Westminster, and Brighton

Three Colorado suburbs may finally have the chance to open recreational marijuana dispensaries thanks to initiatives on the ballot in Golden, Westminster, and Brighton.

After recreational cannabis was legalized in the state, the city council in Golden placed a moratorium on adult-use marijuana businesses in the city. If voters approve the measure, recreational dispensaries could open their doors. Marijuana cultivation, extraction, or manufacturing facilities would still be off the table.

Similarly, Westminster banned marijuana sales in 2013. However, ballot measures presented by the city council would all adult-use marijuana dispensaries and create a new local sales tax.

Brighton City Council banned marijuana sales after it was legalized in 2012, but this year voters in the city will vote on whether to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries as well as create a 4 percent local sales tax.

Lakewood

This year it’s all about taxes as Lakewood voters weigh in on a special marijuana sales tax that would help fund the city. If approved, local taxes on recreational marijuana would be set at 5 percent, with the City of Lakewood retaining the right to increase the tax up to 10 percent without further voter approval. Currently, Lakewood’s overall sales tax for recreational marijuana is 19.6 percent. The sales tax increase would raise around $2.9 million per year for Lakewood.

Mead, Lamar, and Wellington

Three rural Colorado towns will also vote this November on whether to allow recreational cannabis sales.

In Wellington, Initiative 2B would allow medical and recreational marijuana sales, and Issue 300 would implement a 3.5 sales tax on recreational marijuana purchases.

A voter-backed initiative in Mead could end the prohibition of marijuana sales in the town. A similar measure failed in 2019.

Lamar has two separate ballot initiatives that would end the ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales. Ballot Question 2B would allow marijuana dispensaries, cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing, while Ballot Issue 2A would create a 5 percent local tax on recreational marijuana sales. The city would have the right to raise adult-use marijuana taxes up to 15 percent without further voter approval.

Hope for more social consumption venues in Denver was dealt a blow after an initiative that would have eased location restrictions failed to get enough votes from Denver City Council.

In 2016, Denver voters approved I-300, which allowed businesses to establish indoor cannabis consumption areas. As approved by voters, I-300 required cannabis-consumption venues to be 1,000 feet from schools. However, Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses expanded that list to include daycare facilities, drug-treatment centers, city pools, parks, and recreation centers.

Councilwoman Kendra Black’s proposed initiative would have kept the 1,000-foot restriction for schools but changed the restrictions for the added locations to 500 feet. The rules on where cannabis businesses can set up shop have limited the number of potential properties available, and since licensing began in 2017, only two social consumption establishments have opened their doors.

“We collect a lot of tax revenue, which we all welcome. This council voted unanimously to increase the marijuana sales tax for affordable housing. It seems contradictory that we heavily tax the industry, we welcome the sales to tourists, but don’t give them a place to consume,” Black said before the vote on the proposal.

Mayor Michael Hancock was opposed to the proposal as were organizations like the Children’s Hospital, Denver Public Schools, and the Denver Police Department. Opponents of the proposal cited public safety and protecting children.

“Denver voters have approved multiple marijuana measures, both locally and at a state level. Amendment 64 passed in a landslide, with two-thirds of Denver voters in support,” Black said. “The purpose of this initiative was to protect kids from seeing and smelling consumption in parks, on sidewalks on the 16th Street Mall and along our rivers. I’m really perplexed by people who are opposing this in the name of kids.”

Because the proposal would have changed a voter-approved initiative, Black’s proposal needed the approval of at least nine council members, rather than a simple majority. Seven of 12 council members voted in favor of the proposal, while five voted against it.

Denver’s social cannabis consumption pilot program was set to expire in 2020, but Denver City Council voted 10-1 to remove the sunset date, making the program permanent.

In 2016, Denverites approved Initiative 300, which was designed to allow businesses to establish indoor cannabis consumption areas. Private, invitation-only consumption events were already legal, but I-300 made it possible for businesses like yoga studios, art galleries, hotels, concert venues, and coffee shops to wade into the cannabis industry.

Since I-300 was enacted in 2017, the program has been plagued with problems. The sunset provision made it difficult for cannabis entrepreneurs to secure loans and investors, as well as physical space for their businesses. Leases for commercial buildings are typically three to five years, so before the sunset provision was eliminated, social use businesses would have to commit to a lease that would outlast the regulations.

Additional difficulties include restrictions on where social consumption lounges can set up shop, limiting the number of potential properties available. Marijuana businesses hoping to be licensed for social use must gain approval from nearby neighborhood or business groups, be located 1,000 feet away from schools, daycare facilities, drug treatment centers, city pools, and recreation centers.

Moreover, because of state restrictions, licensed consumption businesses are prohibited from allowing indoor smoking, cannabis sales, or alcohol consumption. Proposed legislation could ease some of these restrictions, making cannabis lounges more viable.

Denver City Council has been looking at ways to improve Denver’s social use program, and removing the sunset provision was the first step.

The only opposition to removing the sunset provision came from Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn. “I don’t believe that simply repealing the sunset, which voters had approved and authors of the initiative included, is going to make any difference in the context of all the other changes that would have to be looked at before this program would take off,” Flynn said. “I don’t see that removing the sunset would result in any new businesses suddenly coming forward, with all the other restrictions that I believe are truly the reason that more of these licenses have not been sought by other business.”

Since I-300 was enacted in 2017, the city has received just five applications. One of those applications was rejected, one was rescinded, one is still under review, and two were approved. The Coffee Joint in west Denver was the first business granted a social use license and is currently the only social pot business in operation. A second marijuana consumption lounge, Vape and Play, closed just a month after opening.

Cannabis has come a long way since Denver held its first annual 4/20 Rally back in 2007. In the eleven years since the rally began, much of the nation has embraced marijuana–thirty states and the District of Columbia currently have legal cannabis in some form. And along with the growing acceptance of cannabis, the celebration of cannabis culture in the Mile High City has grown from one annual rally to a week chock full of 4/20 events.

Check out this listing of some of our top events this April:

Mile High 420 Festival – April 20
When it comes to weed in 2018, there’s less to protest and more to celebrate–so it makes sense that this year’s 4/20 revels at Civic Center Park have been dubbed a festival, rather than a rally. The festival is free and will feature live music, comedy, yoga and other wellness activities, food trucks, cannabis craft vendors, and more than 20 local charities. Festival headliners include Lil Wayne, Lil Jon, Inner Circle, and The Original Wailers.

RiNo Cares: Cannabis Health and Wellness Fair – April 15
This first-time event will offer health screenings, medical marijuana provider sign-ups, culinary demonstrations, industry panel discussions, and more. Event organizers describe the fair as supporting independent businesses and creatives in Denver’s River North (RiNo) Art District, and 30% of vendor booth fees will be donated to provide care, resources and support for Veterans in Colorado. The free, 21-and-up event will take place at Cultivated Synergy.

TedxMileHigh: Colorado’s Cannabis Conversation – April 18
Furthering the conversation around marijuana, speakers at this event will discuss topics ranging from the commercialization and medical uses of cannabis to pop culture and politics. Speakers include Dr. Doris Gundersen, an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, lawyer Christian Sederberg, Esq., a founding partner in a law firm described by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the country’s first powerhouse marijuana law firm,” and Wanda James, who along with her husband, Scott Durrah, was the first African-American to own a dispensary and edible company.

Sensi Night Colorado at Temple Nightclub and Club Vinyl – April 19
Hang with cannabis industry workers and enthusiasts at Sensi Magazine’s second annual event. There will be over 120 Colorado companies on site to answer all your product and brand questions. The free, 21-and-up event will take place at two locations on Broadway. Register here.

107.9 KBPI Presents Afroman at The Gothic – April 20
“Because I Got High” isn’t just a song by rapper Afroman, it’s also an excellent, all-purpose explanation for stoner mistakes. Afroman is performing at the Gothic for an early 5:30 pm show, along with David Frederick and SwizZy B.

Red Rocks Amphitheater 4/20 weekend – April 19-21
Colorado’s legendary music venue is host to three nights of concerts in honor of the stoner holiday. See 311, Method Man & Redman on April 19, followed by Flosstradamus on April 20. On April 21, see Opuio + SYZYGY Orchestra and Sunsquabi.

Snoop’s 420 Wellness Retreat – April 20
The first stop of Snoop’s four-city tour is an all-ages event at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Snoop co-headlines with Migos and other performers include Lil Pump, Rob Stone, and Tiara Thomas. Get tickets here.

420 on the Block – April 20-22
The three-day music fest sponsored by The Green Solution, will feature headliner Action Bronson, along with Matisyahu, Michael Menert, Break Science, Washed Out, and more at the Fox Street Compound. Purchase tickets for the event here.

Ganja Guru Yoga Brunch – April 22
After a busy week of 4/20 festivities, chill out with this 21-and-up, yoga-meets-cannabis brunch event. Hosted by Urban Sanctuary Yoga, there will be space for consumption (make sure to bring your own weed), a healthy breakfast, and an uplifting vinyasa yoga class, followed up by CBD massages.

Good Vibe Mafia Charity Yoga Event – April 28
The Good Vibe Mafia  will be gathering at Rino Yoga Social on April 28th at 2 p.m. for a mindful yoga class lead by Amanda Learned. All proceeds will benefit The Food Bank of the Rockies; a local Denver based charity providing food for those in need.

We know that Colorado raked in tons of money in cannabis revenue in 2017, but new numbers released by the Colorado Department of Revenue show that Denver accounted for a sizable chunk of that number. The Mile High City accounted for over a third of the state’s total cannabis revenue, totaling $577.5 million, according to Westword.

Previous numbers released by the DOR in February reported that the state made $1.5 million in cannabis sales last year. When added to the total revenue since legal recreational cannabis sales began in 2014, that amounts to nearly $4.5 billion in sales. Data including sales from the entire state show that overall dispensary sales rose in December for the first time since August 2017. That’s a 7 percent increase in revenue from November (119.56 million) to December ($128.27 million). Numbers from recreational marijuana sales in December 2017 accounted for approximately $96.34 million. Medical sales amounted to $31.92 million.

The data shows a trend for seasonal sales differences. Cannabis sales spike during the warm summer months and decline beginning in September. In August of last year, Denver dispensaries brought in over $53.6 million, with recreational pot accounting for $35 million. February is the slowest month for cannabis sales in Denver, with just over $29.5 million in sales in 2017.

The numbers released by the DOR in March show that Denver dominates marijuana sales in Colorado with more dispensaries than any other Colorado city. Denver has nearly 1,150 active cannabis business licenses within city limits, 364 of which are for dispensaries. The number of dispensaries in Denver is triple that of those found in Colorado Springs, the state’s runner-up in the number of shops selling legal cannabis.

Only 25 of 64 Colorado counties currently allow recreational marijuana sales. Arapahoe and Douglas counties prohibit retail cannabis sales; however, Aurora, which is part of both counties, does allow recreational sales. Adams and El Paso counties either limit or outright ban retail marijuana.

Denver is one step closer to setting guidelines for public marijuana use in clubs and businesses located in Denver. The initiative, passed by voters in November, allows adults 21 and older to consume cannabis at marijuana clubs and places like yoga studios, art galleries, and coffee shops.

Regulators met with business owners, cannabis activists and detractors, and law enforcement authorities on Wednesday to hammer out details about what’s ahead for social cannabis use. Aside from the 21-and-up age restriction and a ban on smoking indoors, the initiative didn’t set rules for how these businesses operate.

So, what can you expect social cannabis use in Denver to look like? Here’s what we know so far: