Welcome to our Ask The Cannabist column. Clearly, you have questions about marijuana, be it a legal concern, a health curiosity, a Colorado-centric inquiry or something more far-reaching. Check out our expansive, 100-question Colorado marijuana FAQ first, and if you’re still curious, email your question to Ask The Cannabist at askthecannabist@gmail.com.
Hey, Cannabist!
I’m bringing my dog to Denver, and I’m wondering if any dispensaries will allow me to take my her in with me, on a leash of course. I’m staying in the downtown area, but I’ll have wheels to go anywhere. –Doobie Dogg
Hey, Doobie Dogg!
Can Daisy or Rex follow you inside a dispensary? Fun question! Since many weed-related issues boil down to a legal question, I asked marijuana attorney Jeff Wilson of McAllister Law Office about any specific on-premises laws or regulations regarding pets in dispensaries. “The MED (Marijuana Enforcement Division) rules are completely silent on dogs (or any animals) in dispensaries,” Wilson says via email. “It’s likely up to dispensaries themselves on whether to allow dogs or not.”
While no state marijuana law prohibits pets, there may be a local ordinance that restricts private businesses to service animals, with no pets allowed.
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After crowdsourcing pet-friendly dispensaries via Facebook, I found a number of them along the Front Range that allow dogs. Store managers have verified their policies on service dogs and pets. The dispensaries listed are open for both recreational customers and medical patients, unless noted.
Shops that allow service dogs include:
• Natural Selections in Northglenn;
• Green Man Cannabis in Denver;
• Maggie’s Farm, (with six locations, either medical or recreational, throughout southern Colorado);
• Livwell, with six Denver locations selling both medical and recreational marijuana (and 14 stores statewide);
• Mindful, which has a Denver medical dispensary and separate recreational shop, and three other Colorado locations (the Mindful medical dispensary in Berthoud is an exception, allowing pets).
Pet-friendly places where well-behaved dogs are welcome include:
• Kind Love in Glendale;
• SoCo, a medical dispensary in Colorado Springs;
• Faragosi Farms in Trinidad;
• Helping Hands in Boulder;
• Bud Depot in Lyons;
• The Farm in Boulder even provides a water bowl and dog treats.
If your favorite or most convenient dispensary isn’t on the list, call ahead and ask whether Duke or Lady can follow you inside the store. XO
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