Pubdate: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA) Copyright: 2013 Associated Press Contact: http://www.heraldnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190 Author: Gene Johnson, Associated Press Page: B6 BARS TESTING LIMITS OF LEGAL POT LAWS TACOMA - John Connelly leaned forward on his barstool, set his lips against a clear glass pipe and inhaled a white cloud of marijuana vapor. A handful of people milled around him. Three young women stood behind the bar, ready to assist with the preparation of the bongs, as the strains of a blues band playing downstairs sounded faintly off the exposed brick walls. "It feels so comfortable in here," said Connelly, 33. "It's just a great social aspect." Welcome to the Stonegate - puns welcome. It's one of a tiny number of bars, cafes and private clubs catering to the stoner class in Washington and Colorado since voters last fall made them the first states to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. Both states bar the public use of marijuana - which typically would include bars and restaurants - and most bars are steering clear of allowing pot use at least until officials come up with rules for the new weed industry. But a few have been testing the boundaries of what's allowed in hopes of drumming up business and making a political statement. "I've been running a bar a few years now, and people would always go outside around the corner, into the shadows, to smoke up," said Jeff Call, the Stonegate's owner. "People shouldn't have to hide. There's no rules yet, but I'm trying to do this thoughtfully and responsibly." Washington's law bans pot distribution by anyone but a licensed seller - and no such licenses will be issued until the end of the year at the earliest. There's also a statewide smoking ban that prohibits smoking where people work. So the establishments are trying various strategies to allow on-site consumption. Frankie's Sports Bar and Grill in Olympia is less than a mile from the headquarters of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, where officials are writing rules for the pot industry. It allows members of its private smoking room to use tobacco or marijuana. The owner, Frankie Schnarr, said his revenue has jumped by nearly half since he started allowing pot smoking in December. In Denver, Club 64 - named after Colorado's law, Amendment 64 - charges a $30 yearly membership for the privilege of getting high in a private social setting. Members receive emails alerting them to the locations of club "meetings," like a recent St. Patrick's Day party hosted by a local bar, featuring marijuana-infused green beer. Club 64 owner Robert Corry, an attorney, wants to open a bar where he can welcome members on a daily basis. The Front Tea & Art Shop in Lafayette, about 20 miles north of Denver, offered "cannabis-friendly" evenings six nights a week at which customers older than 21 were allowed to bring their own pot. Owner Veronica Carpio said the cafe attracted 25 people a day - until last month, when Lafayette declared a moratorium on pot use at businesses. She's suing, arguing the city overstepped its authority. Anyone who wanders up the stairs to the Stonegate's second-floor smoking lounge is charged a nominal fee -$1 a day to $20 a year - to become a member of the private club. To evade the smoking ban, there's no smoking allowed - only "vaporizing," a method that involves heating the marijuana without burning it. Call provides space in the lounge - an L-shaped bar of blond wood, painted with portraits of Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughn and other rock heroes - to the proprietor of a local medical marijuana dispensary. People who don't have a medical authorization have to bring their own pot, rent a vaporizer - $10 by the half-hour - or pay to have one prepared for them. For $5, those who do have an authorization are offered various preparations of "shatter" - a hardened oil of powerful marijuana extract. Call opened his rum-and-pizza joint a few years ago in a brick building along a formerly seedy stretch of shops, bars and restaurants. The second floor had recently been operated as a brothel, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom