Denver City Council Backs Away From Cannabis Smoking Ban on Private Property

The Denver City Council has backed away from an ordinance that would have banned smoking cannabis on private property in public view. The draft ordinance, amended by Monday’s 7-6 vote in favor of striking language that would have banned smoking marijuana “in any outdoor location where the consumption of marijuana is clearly observable from a public place,” comes as the council attempts to establish rules for smoking marijuana within the city in the wake of the passage of Amendment 64.

With the amendment’s passage in November 2012, those over 21 are allowed to possess up to one ounce of recreational cannabis. Legal sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado are set to begin Jan. 1.

The council, which initially voted in favor of the “front yard” smoking ban, will take a final vote on the ordinance Dec. 9, according to a legislative assistant. The ordinance, if passed, will ban smoking cannabis in parks as well as within one block of the 16th Street Mall and “within 50 feet of any roadway, playground, recreation center, or swimming pool at or within any park, parkway, mountain park or other recreational facility.” If passed as amended it will now allow cannabis consumption on private property or with permission from the property owner.