An employee pours marijuana back into a jar at Boulder's Terrapin Care Station in 2016. Last year, Colorado produced almost 500 tons of marijuana for sale.

Hickenlooper vetoes bill that would have allowed first-in-the-nation marijuana “tasting rooms”

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday vetoed a bill that would have allowed licensed marijuana “tasting rooms” in Colorado — in what would have been a first-in-the-nation endeavor — citing health and safety concerns.

House Bill 1258 would have allowed adults at current recreational marijuana retailers to consume small amounts of pot through edibles or by vaping.

“We are concerned that marijuana use at consumption establishments could result in additional impaired or intoxicated drivers on our roadways,” Hickenlooper, a term-limited Democrat, wrote in a letter announcing the veto. “… This bill also poses public health risks. Allowing vaporization of marijuana in confined spaced poses a significant health risk for employees and patrons of consumption establishments.”

Read the rest of this story on DenverPost.com.