Colorados largest city is reviewing the first application from a business seeking to be among the nations first legal marijuana clubs, a step that comes more than a year after voters approved a bring-your-own pot measure.Co-owners Rita Tsalyuk and Kirill Merkulov plan to charge a 5 entry fee if theyre approved for the license."Its a new apex," he said.Colorado law doesnt address pot clubs. In some cities, they are tolerated, while others operate secretly.The proposal has the backing of a local neighborhood association, which submitted a letter of support to the city. Customers could use edible pot products or vaporizing pens inside, and the shop would sell food, host events and provide free coffee or tea, she said.Other states with legal marijuana are at a standstill for developing rules governing places to consume pot products, including Alaska, where state regulators have delayed discussion of rules for retail shops until spring.

Aubrey Lavizzo, a member of the La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, said the club backers attended two of their meetings and invited members to tour the dispensary. Dan Rowland, a spokesman for the Denver department that regulates marijuana businesses, said the city received the application from the Coffee Joint on Friday.Denver voters approved the clubs in a 2016 ballot measure, but it took nine months for the city to start accepting applications.Customers buying marijuana products often ask where they are allowed to legally use it, and employees have few answers for tourists staying in hotels that ban marijuana use, Tsalyuk said."Theyve shown us that they really want to be good neighbors," said Lavizzo, a veterinarian who has had a clinic in the neighborhood for over 30 years.Merkulov # said they are aware of the national and global spotlight on the industry. Advocates have complained that state restrictions preventing pot use at any business with a liquor license and the citys own rules unfairly limited potential locations for the clubs. Applicants have to show community support for their proposal as part of the licensing process.In the meantime, Tsalyuk and Merkulov want to open their business before the end of the year as a traditional coffee shop.For instance, the city required pot clubs to be twice as far from schools and anywhere else children gather as liquor stores

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