Pubdate: Sun, 31 Mar 2013
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2013 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Gene Johnson, Associated Press

' CANNABIS- FRIENDLY' BARS TEST LIMITS OF LAWS

Wash., Colo. Allow Recreational Use for 21- Plus Crowd

TACOMA, Wash. - 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 fi rst
states to legalize marijuana for adults over 21.

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 offi cials 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.

"A marijuana club is exactly what the voters wanted," Corry said.
"Colorado voters knew exactly what we were doing."

The Front Tea & Art Shop in Lafayette, about 20 miles north of Denver,
offered "cannabis-friendly" evenings six nights a week at which
customers over 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-fl oor
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, then 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 rumandpizza joint a few years ago in a brick building
along a formerly seedy stretch of shops, bars and restaurants. The
second fl oor had recently been operated as a brothel, he said.

On a recent Friday night, a gentle scent of fresh marijuana filled the
room. At one table, a handful of 20- somethings inhaled deeply from a
rubber hose attached to a rented vaporizer, a black box that toasted
the cannabis to 375 degrees.

Those who wanted a morepowerful dose grabbed a seat at the bar, where
Jenae DeCampo, a 21- year-old in a black tube-top, pulled out a
small blowtorch.

DeCampo held the hissing flame to the metal stem of a clear glass bong
until the metal glowed orange. With a wand, she picked up a small
piece of what looked like amber - a chunk of potent, hardened
marijuana oil - and rubbed it on the scorching metal.

A white cloud filled the pipe, bubbled through the water at the bottom
and rushed into Connelly's lungs.

"A lot of people are shocked by what we're doing because it's so
uncommon," DeCampo said. "I like being part of something that could
possibly be big."

Tacoma's code enforcement staff is reviewing the Stonegate's
operation, a city spokeswoman said.

Justin Nordhorn, the state liquor board's chief of enforcement, has
some concerns about bars that allow pot use. Most importantly, he
said, is that marijuana can compound alcohol's intoxicating effects,
meaning people might be even more dangerous when driving.

He also doubted whether the "private club" aspect of the
establishments would keep them out of trouble. A truly private club
that serves alcohol - say, an Elks Lodge - would have to have a liquor
license specifi c to private clubs, and members of the public couldn't
be allowed in.

For now, Nordhorn noted, there is a loophole in the state board's
ability to block bars from allowing pot use. Its rules require bars to
address on-site criminal violations, but public use of marijuana is
only a civil infraction - meaning officials can't necessarily punish
bars that let people partake, even if police could come in and write
tickets to toking customers.

That's something the board could address as it makes rules for the new
pot industry.

For now, Call's goal is to get more people into the bar - people who
will get hungry and order pizzas.

"People are just smiling and friendly and happy," Call said. "I just
really like the feeling you get when you're up here."
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D