Pot Smokers to Denver City Council: Stay Off the Porch

The
latest version of Denver’s rules for marijuana consumption
eliminates the widely derided “smell
test,” which would have made pot smoking illegal when other
people can smell it, even if you do it on your own property. It
also omits a ban on mere possession in parks, which Councilwoman
Susan Shepherd
worried would deter marijuana consumers from walking and
biking. And although it still covers marijuana consumption “in any
outdoor location” where it is “clearly observable from a public
place,” it exempts consumption on “private residential property” by
owners, tenants, or guests. But The Denver
Post reports that
at least six out of 13 city council members still want to ban
marijuana consumption in front yards, and there may yet be a
seventh vote:

Charlie Brown, a swing vote, said he is conflicted. He has been
a staunch property-rights proponent but understands the problem
[Councilwoman Jeanne] Robb is trying to resolve.

“I don’t want to see a bunch of pot parties on front yards,” he
said. “The city’s image is at stake. I’m torn between [that concern
and] my stance that a man’s front yard is his castle.”

Mason Tvert, who co-managed the campaign for marijuana
legalization in Colorado,
tells Westword that Robb’s proposed amendment is
approved, he could end up with no place to legally smoke pot:

They are still trying to prohibit the use of marijuana by adults
on private property. It’s currently legal for adults to consume
alcohol or smoke cigarettes on their porches or balconies, so we
fail to understand why it should be illegal to use a far less
harmful substance there….

I don’t have a private backyard; the backyard is a common area.
And if my building were to decide people can’t use marijuana inside
their units, for whatever reason, I wouldn’t have anywhere I could
legally use marijuana as an adult.

Aspen recently
approved marijuana regulations that do not restrict consumption
on private property. According to The Aspen Times, that
means “it is OK for people to smoke in the comfort of their
own yards, fenced or not, as well as their balconies, rooftops and
patios.” How come?  “At this point,” the
Times says, “the city doesn’t believe the pot
users, whether locals or visitors, will get out of hand.”