Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 Source: Westword (Denver, CO) Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters Website: http://www.westword.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616 Author: William Breathes WHERE CAN I FIND A CANNABIS-FRIENDLY PHYSICIAN? Dear Stoner: I recently retired to Colorado from Texas, where I was with my doctor for more than twenty years. I want to find a GP or internist in the Denver area who is marijuana-friendly. While I may not want or need that prescription anytime soon, I'd like to start with a doc who likes the idea of cannabis before pills when necessary. Can you offer any recommendations of how to find such a person? What a joy for this to even be a valid question! I love you, Colorado! Granny Dear Granny: We answered the doctor question a while back, but the long/short of it is that while we are not in the doctor-recommending business, we know that finding a good physician is important. If you have coverage already, start by finding a GP you feel comfortable with, and be open with him or her about your take on medical care. If you don't jibe, move on to the next one; this is your health we're talking about. But know that even if they support cannabis, most docs in huge networks shy away from recommending it and will suggest that you go to someone (paid for out of pocket) for a second opinion and recommendation. The good news? There are more than 800 doctors in Colorado writing pot recommendations right now, according to state records, so finding one shouldn't be too hard. Dear Stoner: We're coming over from Dallas later this summer and are trying to pick a hotel room. Do we have to have one that has a balcony, or can we smoke inside? J.R. and Sue Ellen Sue Ellen Dear Dallas: It's complicated. Marijuana smoking is included in Colorado's clean-air laws along with tobacco smoke, so pot smoking is banned everywhere that tobacco smoke is banned - on top of being banned in public, period. So lighting up weed in your non-smoking hotel room can still result in an absurd hotel-smoking fine or even a ticket, if the hotelier is an asshole. The exception is smoking rooms - - but even then, it's up to the hotel as to whether ganja smoke is tolerated. Even balconies aren't necessarily safe. Denver law says consumption visible from any public place is illegal. Of course, if you're five stories up, who's to say you aren't smoking tobacco out of that $1,500 bong or pen-length, hand-rolled cigarette? Just know the laws - even if police have said that a person smoking a joint on a balcony is about the last thing they're going to worry about. If you really want a nice, safe spot to smoke herb while visiting Denver, check out Adagio Bed and Breakfast's "Bud and Breakfast" package or online sites like Airbnb. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom