DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Denver is restricting new marijuana store locations and cultivation facilities in some neighborhoods.
Eric Escudero, with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, said the city has released an updated list every year since 2021 to protect neighborhoods from oversaturation.
“While marijuana businesses have positive impacts to the city in many ways such as thousands of jobs created, our job as regulators is to make sure there are no negative consequences that can come when one area has most the marijuana businesses in the city,” Escudero said.
This week, the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses announced a list of prohibited neighborhoods where no new marijuana cultivation or store licenses will be accepted.
Denver restricts cannabis store, cultivation locations
2024 prohibited neighborhoods for new marijuana store locations:
- Overland: 13 locations
- Northeast Park Hill: 11 locations
- Baker: 10 locations
- Five Points: 10 locations
- Montbello: 8 locations
- Valverde: 8 locations
2024 prohibited neighborhoods for new marijuana cultivation facilities:
- Northeast Park Hill: 28 locations (down from 29)
- Montbello: 24 locations (down from 27)
- Elyria Swansea: 19 locations (down from 22)
- Overland: 16 locations (down from 17)
- College View-South Platte: 13 locations (down from 14)
According to the city of Denver, there were no changes to the list of neighborhoods of undue concentration for cannabis stores from 2023. There was also no change to undue concentration for cultivation facilities from 2023, but there were changes to the total number of locations within those identified neighborhoods.
“We want to make sure and protect that cultural and historical significance,” Escudero said. “Denver is a special place, and we want to make sure that what makes it special continues to be special.”
Seed & Smith, a cannabis business in the Montbello neighborhood, has been operating since 2014.
“We are one of the many original cannabis companies here in Colorado,” director of operations William Tills said. “The grow, the lab and the dispensary are all in one location under one roof.”
It’s an industry Tills said is constantly changing.
“The market is becoming more competitive, and people sort of have to fight for every dollar,” Tills said.
And now, no new marijuana stores will be able to set up nearby.
“I think it makes it easier for some of the businesses that have been here for a while to stay a little more afloat,” Tills said.
‘The regulations that we have are necessary’
Darrell Watson, Denver City Council member for District 9, represents some of the neighborhoods where new marijuana cultivation or store licenses are prohibited.
“I am not hearing from community members that there’s a concern about these businesses and the crime stats aren’t showing any increase in criminal behavior around them,” Watson said.
Watson said he wants to look at providing more opportunities for social equity in retail marijuana.
“The regulations that we have are necessary,” Watson said. “Where my focus is at is that we are treating marijuana like any other product.”
Retail marijuana sales began in Denver in January 2014.
Be the first to comment