Ask a Stoner: Are Weed Events Back?

Dear Stoner: Are weed events back? How could they even be allowed to take place during COVID-19?
Gil

Dear Gil: Depends on your definition of “back.” If you mean weed events are back in the same way that sports are back – shortened, postponed and presented to us in some online capacity – then yes, weed events are back. Virtual cannabis events have been occurring since March, back in the early stages of pandemic shutdowns, and people are always smoking weed during them. In-person events promoting social cannabis use aren’t back, though…not that they were ever really here to begin with.

Public events allowing social cannabis use were banned throughout Colorado long before the pandemic, with private parties and venues responsible for most, if not all, of the lavish pot-smoking parties that you’ve seen or just heard about. (This goes for the majority of events in other states with legal pot, too.) Now that people are going back outside again, private cannabis events are sporadically taking place around the country – just on an even smaller, quieter scale than before. Most of these events probably violate several social distancing guidelines or local health orders, but when they’re held at a private venue with narrow promotion, enforcement is difficult.

Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.