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Here's How To Legally Smoke, Possess And Buy Retail Marijuana In Colorado

Here's How To Legally Smoke, Buy And Posses Pot In Colorado
Colorado.gov
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Planning on buying or using recreational marijuana in Colorado today? Well, then here's everything you need to know about Colorado's new retail marijuana laws whether you're a tourist or a resident participating in Colorado's historic "Green Wednesday."

How old do I have to be to purchase, possess or consume retail marijuana?

You must be 21 and older to buy, possess or use retail marijuana. It is illegal to give or sell retail marijuana to minors.

What is the difference between medical and retail marijuana?

Only licensed retail marijuana stores may sell retail marijuana, and only to those 21 and older.

Medical marijuana requires a state red card, which can only be obtained by Colorado residents with a recommendation from a doctor that a patient suffers from a debilitating medical condition that may benefit from medical marijuana. Medical marijuana patients can obtain marijuana from a licensed center, a primary care giver or self grow. For more information about medical marijuana, please visit the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.

Where can I purchase retail marijuana?

Those 21 and older can purchase retail marijuana at licensed retail stores.

Other municipalities in Colorado also allow retail marijuana stores. Please go to each city’s website to determine specific marijuana sale and consumption laws.

Where am I allowed to consume retail marijuana?

Retail marijuana is intended for private, personal use. Such use is only legal in certain locations not open or accessible to the public. Marijuana may not be consumed openly or publicly.

Can I consume marijuana in public?

No, it is illegal to consume marijuana in public.

This includes but is not limited to areas accessible to the public such as transportation facilities, schools, amusement/sporting/music venues, parks, playgrounds, sidewalks and roads and outdoor and rooftop cafes. It is also illegal to smoke at indoor-but-public locations like bars, restaurants and common areas in buildings.

Can I possess marijuana? And how much?

Since Amendment 64 went into effect in late 2012, adults 21 and older have been allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of retail marijuana.

How much marijuana can I purchase at one time?

Colorado residents 21 and older can purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of retail marijuana at a time.

Non-residents can purchase up to ¼ ounce at a time.

Can I consume marijuana in a licensed retail store?

No, it is illegal to consume marijuana in or around a licensed store. It is also illegal to smoke at indoor-but-public locations such as bars, restaurants and common areas in buildings.

Are marijuana “social clubs” or “coffee shops” permitted?

No. These businesses are not permitted.

What are the consequences if I violate marijuana laws?

Penalties range from a fine to a possible jail or prison sentence. Colorado State Statutes and Denver Revised Municipal Code spell out the specific penalties for various violations.

Schools, universities and employers are allowed to put in place their own disciplinary actions for marijuana-related infractions.

Are the rules different for possession and consumption of edible marijuana than for marijuana that can be smoked?

No. Possession laws are the same for all retail marijuana types, and public consumption is always illegal, regardless of form.

Can I have marijuana in my car?

Yes. Marijuana may be carried in cars but it may not be in an open container and cannot cross state boundaries. It is illegal to use or consume marijuana in a motor vehicle and it is illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana.

Is there a DUI-like equivalent for driving under the influence of marijuana?

Yes. It is illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana and it can result in a DUI, just like alcohol. Anyone with 5 nanograms or more of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (known as THC) per milliliter in whole blood (CRS 42-4-1301) while driving can be arrested for DUI. The consequences of DUI is dependent on the driver but they can include fines, jail time and a revoked license.

Can I take marijuana through airport security or travel out of state with it?

No. It is illegal to take marijuana across state lines.

Can I consume marijuana on public transportation (buses, light rail) in Denver?

No. It is illegal to consume marijuana in public, which includes public transportation.

Can I smoke marijuana in a taxi or limousine in Denver?

It is illegal to smoke marijuana in a taxi, limousine or any form of government-operated mass transportation.

Can I consume marijuana inside a smoke-friendly hotel room or on a hotel balcony?

It is up to the discretion of the hotel if it allows marijuana smoke to be consumed in their smoking rooms (the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act limits all smoking to at most 25 percent of rooms). You should ask the hotel if they allow it. Denver city laws prohibit marijuana consumption on hotel balconies if visible from any public place.

Do the laws of Denver apply elsewhere?

Denver ordinances only apply within the City and County of Denver. Please go to each city or county’s website to determine specific marijuana sale and consumption laws.

Does Denver have additional prohibitions on use or display of marijuana?

It is illegal to consume, use, display, transfer, distribute, sell or grow retail marijuana at or within any park, parkway, mountain park (including Red Rocks) or other recreational facility, on any city-owned property (including streets and sidewalks) within 1,000 feet of a public or private elementary, middle, junior high or high school and on the 16th Street Mall (including any city street or sidewalk one block in either direction from the mall).

Are there additional restrictions on public consumption of marijuana in Denver that I should know about?

On residential private property, retail marijuana consumption in any outdoor location is illegal unless the person is the property owner or lessee or has been granted express or implied permission by the property owner or lessee. On private non-residential property, marijuana consumption is illegal in any outdoor location if it is clearly visible from a public place.

What are the health effects of using retail marijuana?

For information about the health impacts of marijuana use, please visit Denver Health’s resource page on this topic or download their fact sheet.

All questions and answers appear courtesy of Colorado.gov.

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Before You Go

27 Reasons Why The U.S. Shouldn't Lead The War On Drugs
Because Most Americans Are Unenthusiastic About It(01 of27)
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Only 7 percent of Americans think the United States is winning the war on drugs, and few Americans are interested in throwing down more money to try to win, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released in 2012. (credit:(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images))
Because The U.S. Won't Control The Flow Of Guns Into Latin America(02 of27)
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Mexican authorities seized almost 70,000 weapons of U.S. origin from 2007 to 2011. In 2004, the U.S. Congress declined to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. They quickly became the guns of choice for Mexican drug cartels. Some 60,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón launched a military assault on the cartels in 2006. (credit:AP)
Because The United States Leads The Hemisphere In Drug Consumption(03 of27)
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Americans have the highest rate of illegal drug consumption in the world, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Ignores Latin American Calls For A Rethinking Of Drug Policy(04 of27)
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Several current and former Latin American presidents, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have urged the United States to rethink its failed war on drugs, to no avail. (credit:Getty Images / Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil and chair of The Global Commission on Drug Policy, speaks at a press conference June 2, 2011 in New York City to launch a new report that describes the drug war as a failure and calls fo)
Because Of The Fast And Furious Scandal(05 of27)
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In an attempt to track guns as they moved across the U.S.-Mexico border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms allowed smugglers to purchase weapons. The ATF lost track of the guns and they wound up in the hands of drug cartels -- even as far south as Colombia. (credit:AP)
Because American Politicians Refuse To Candidly Lead A Debate On Reforming Our Laws(06 of27)
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Though the subject of marijuana legalization regularly ranks among the most popular at the digital town halls President Obama takes part in, he declines to address the issue or give it a thoughtful answer. Incidentally, a younger Obama supported marijuana decriminalization and a rethinking of the drug war. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Tortures Detainees In Cuba(07 of27)
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Almost 800 prisoners accused of terrorism have have been held at the U.S. military prison of Guantánamo, Cuba, where they are detained indefinitely without facing trial. The United States has drawn international criticism from human rights defenders for subjecting the detainees there to torture and other cruel treatment. The Cuban government opposes hosting the U.S. naval base on its soil. (credit:AP - In this Oct. 9, 2007 file photo US military personnel inspect each occupied cell on a two-minute cycle at Camp 5 maximum-security facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. )
Because The U.S. Has The World's Largest Prison Population(08 of27)
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The United States has the world's largest prison population by far -- largely fed by the war on drugs -- at 500 per 100,000 people. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Jails Undocumented Immigrants Guilty Of Civil Violations(09 of27)
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Because the United States imprisons roughly 400,000 immigrants each year on civil violations. (credit:AP)
Because The Border Patrol Kills Kids Who Throw Rocks(10 of27)
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The U.S. Border Patrol has come under fire for killing minors who were throwing rocks. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Recognized An Illegal Government In Venezuela(11 of27)
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When opponents of leftwing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez briefly ousted him in 2002, the United States not only failed to condemn the coup, it praised the coup leaders. (credit:AP)
Because U.S. Extradition Undermines Justice In Colombia (12 of27)
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When Colombia demobilized the largest rightwing paramilitary organization in 2006, if offered lenient sentences to those who would offer details on the atrocities the AUC committed. But rather than facing justice in their home country, Colombia has extradited several paramilitary leaders to the United States to face drug trafficking charges -- marking it harder for people like Bela Henríquez to find out the details surrounding the murders of their loved ones. "More than anger, I feel powerless," Henriquez, whose father, Julio, was kidnapped and killed on the orders of one defendant, told ProPublica. "We don't know what they are negotiating, what conditions they are living under. What guarantee of justice do we have?" (credit:Getty Images / Paramilitary heads are escorted by Colombian policemen from the maximum security jail of Itagui, Antioquia department, Colombia to Rionegro airport, 400km northeast of Bogota before their extradition to the US on May 13, 2008.)
Because The U.S. Helped Create Today's Cartels(13 of27)
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The U.S funded the Guatemalan military during the 1960s and 1970s anti-insurgency war, despite awareness of widespread human rights violations. Among the recipients of U.S military funding and training were the Kaibiles, a special force unit responsible for several massacres. Former Kaibiles have joined the ranks of the Zetas drug cartel. (credit:Getty Images)
Because The U.S. Backed An Argentine Military Dictatorship That Killed 30,000 People(14 of27)
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The rightwing military dictatorship that took over Argentina in 1976 "disappeared" some 30,000 people, according to estimates by several human rights organizations. They subjected countless others to sadistic forms of torture and stole dozens of babies from mothers they jailed and murdered. The military junta carried out the so-called "Dirty War" with the full knowledge and support of the Nixon administration. (credit:AP / Former Argentina's dictators Jorge Rafael Videla, left, and Reynaldo Bignone wait to listen the verdict of Argentina's historic stolen babies trial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, July 5, 2012. )
Because The U.S. Helped Topple The Democratically Elected Government Of Salvador Allende(15 of27)
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When it became clear that socialist Salvador Allende would likely win the presidency in Chile, U.S. President Richard Nixon told the CIA to "make the economy scream" in order to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him," according to the National Security Archive. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in a bloody coup on Sept. 11, 1973, torturing and disappearing thousands of his political rivals with the backing of the U.S. government. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8b191e4b0877500f6468d" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="13" data-vars-position-in-unit="19">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36536537@N04/7976450360" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="&#x25B2;DulCeCAriTo&#x25B2;" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8b191e4b0877500f6468d" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36536537@N04/7976450360" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="14" data-vars-position-in-unit="20">▲DulCeCAriTo▲</a>)
Because the U.S. Backed A Military Coup In Brazil In 1964(16 of27)
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The Brazilian military overthrew the democratically elected government of João Goulart in 1964, with the enthusiastic support of President Lyndon Johnson, ushering in two decades of repressive government. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Funded A Terrorist Group In Nicaragua(17 of27)
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The Reagan administration funded the Contra rebels against the Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Regarded by many as terrorists, the Contras murdered, tortured and raped civilians. When human rights organizations reported on the crimes, the Reagan administration accused them of working on behalf of the Sandinistas. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Helped Finance Atrocities In Colombia(18 of27)
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Through Plan Colombia, the U.S. has pumped over $6 billion into Colombia's military and intelligence service since 2002. The intelligence service has been disbanded for spying on the Supreme Court and carrying out smear campaigns against the justices, as well as journalists, members of Congress and human rights activists. The military faces numerous allegations of human rights abuse, including the practice of killing non-combatants from poor neighborhoods and dressing them up as guerrillas to inflate enemy casualty statistics. (credit:Getty Images / People demonstrate by covering themselves with sheets pretending they are false positive victims, during a protest against the false positives, massacres and forced disappearences by Colombian authorities on March 6, 2009, in Bogota.)
Because The U.S. Maintains A Trade Embargo Against Cuba Despite Opposition From The Entire World(19 of27)
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For 21 years, the U.N. has condemned the U.S. embargo against Cuba and for 21 years the United States has ignored it. Some 188 nations voted against the embargo this year, with only the U.S. itself, Israel, Palau opposing. (credit:Getty Images / A street market sells necklaces and bracelets in Old Havana on November 12, 2012 in Havana, Cuba. )
Because The U.S. Engineered A Coup Against The Democratically Elected Government Of Guatemala In 1954(20 of27)
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At the behest of United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation with extensive holdings in Central America, the CIA helped engineer the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, ushering in decades of civil war that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. (credit:Getty Images / Politics, Guatemala/ Coups, pic: 28th June 1954, Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, right, (1914-1957) pictured when the rebel leader was leader of the forces that were to overthrow the Guatemalan President Arbenz in a military coup, The Guatem)
Because The U.S. Backed The Salvadoran Military As It Committed Atrocities In The 1980s(21 of27)
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El Salvador's military committed atrocities throughout the 1980s with U.S. funding. (credit:AP / n this July 1989 file photo, from left, Col. Rene Emilio Ponce, formerly the head of the Salvadoran Armed Forces joint chiefs of staff, Rafael Humberto Larios, formerly El Salvador's defense minister, Col. Inocente Orlando Montano, formerly public sa)
Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti and Occupied It For Almost 20 Years(22 of27)
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Woodrow Wilson ordered the Marines to invade and occupy Haiti in 1915 after the assassination of the Haitian president. The troops didn't leave until 1934. (credit:AP / Stenio Vincent)
Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti Again In 1994(23 of27)
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One invasion wasn't good enough. The U.S. military returned in 1994. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Trained Military Leaders Who Committed Atrocities In Latin America(24 of27)
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The School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia, trained soldiers and generals responsible for massacres and torture of tens of thousands of Latin Americans, according to Al Jazeera. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8b191e4b0877500f6468d" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="3" data-vars-position-in-unit="9">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/84685738@N05/7910188768" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Caravan4Peace" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8b191e4b0877500f6468d" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/84685738@N05/7910188768" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="4" data-vars-position-in-unit="10">Caravan4Peace</a>)
Because The U.S. Backed Dictator Rafael Trujillo(25 of27)
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Rafael Trujillo Sr. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Because The U.S. Invaded Cuba And Undermined The Island's Independence(26 of27)
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The so-called "Spanish-American War" began in 1868 with the first of a series of three wars for Cuban independence. In 1898, the U.S. got involved, invading Cuba and occupying the island after forcing Spain to give it. The United States then forced Cuba to accept the odious Platt Amendent to its Constitution, which allowed the United States to intervene in the country militarily and established the U.S. military base at Guantánamo. (credit:AP)
Because The U.S. Colonized Puerto Rico(27 of27)
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As long as you're invading Cuba, why not take Puerto Rico as well? The United States invaded in 1898 and the island remains a U.S. territory today. (credit:AP)
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