Aurora, Colorado Officials May Soon Allow Cannabis Delivery

Marijuana delivery may soon be arriving in Aurora, Colorado.

The city council there on Monday night agreed to advance a proposal that would permit pot delivery during certain times for individuals who are of legal age under the state’s cannabis law. 

According to local television station KDVR, the Aurora city council voted 8-2 “to allow for licensed retailers to deliver recreational marijuana in Aurora, and other municipalities allowing for marijuana delivery.”

The station outlined the specific terms of the proposal: “Under the proposal, delivery would be allowed from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; no more than one ounce of marijuana, 80-ten milligram servings of THC in marijuana products or eight grams of marijuana concentrate could be delivered to a customer in one day. The plan calls for interested businesses to obtain special licensing through the Aurora Marijuana Enforcement Division.  Applicants would need to have no felony convictions in the three years prior to requesting a license.”

The proposal, which will be brought to a final vote later this month, would make Aurora, Colorado’s third largest city with a population of almost 400,000 people, one of the first cities in the state to permit such a service, according to the Denver Post. 

Cannabis, Coronavirus, Colorado

Advocates have cited the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has left individuals tethered to their homes and businesses severely restricted (if not shuttered entirely), as an impetus for the move to marijuana delivery.

“Delivery is needed particularly because of the pandemic,” said Aurora Councilwoman Alison Coombs, as quoted by the Denver Post. “Folks are having to stay safely in their homes.”

Three other communities in Colorado greenlit marijuana home delivery earlier this year, an option that was made available thanks to a bill passed by the state legislature in 2019.

The bill gave discretion to local governments in the state to decide whether or not to opt in to marijuana delivery. But the realities imposed by the coronavirus pandemic may increase pressure on more city leaders to hop on board.

That was the goal of a campaign launched in Colorado in the spring called “Cannabis Against Covid” that aimed to change cannabis policy in light of the pandemic.

The initial goal as described by the campaign was to “to petition the State of Colorado to legalize home deliveries for recreational marijuana, and add a temporary $20 surcharge to each delivery, which would go directly to COVID relief agencies.” The group also pointed to the economic hardships imposed by the pandemic, noting that cannabis sales in Colorado suffered a significant dip in sales due to the lockdown measures.

“The purpose of this campaign is to help our country in its time of need. Legalization and delivery could do wonders to help rescue the economy and American workforce, but most importantly raise tens of millions immediately to fight COVID,” said Dave Sheldon, the founder of the campaign.

Should the Aurora city council pass the proposal later this month, marijuana delivery could begin in the community as early as January 2021.