PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Fall 2019

Fall 2019 • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters •  5 Some marijuana advocates are pushing to allow for dual consumption, but the Colorado Restaurant Association doesn’t believe Colorado’s laws are ready for that. For instance, there is no dram shop law for the new marijuana consumption lounges. Driving while impaired by marijuana is not a per se violation like it is for alcohol. Finally, the insurance market for liquor liability is not ready for businesses that allow marijuana and alcohol consumption. There have also been rumors that those companies would simply stop offering insurance in Colorado, reducing options and driving up costs. Maine has had licensed medical marijuana use since 1999. In a 2016 statewide referendum, voters approved ‘adult use’ recreational marijuana. Since then lawmakers have struggled with how to implement the will of the voters. They finally expect the new law to be released in March of 2020, and it will be very different from what voters approved. While it permits retail stores and home growing, Maine’s new law will not allow for social clubs, which eliminates restaurants or bars, and effectively restricts cannabis use to private residences only. Many are concerned that this will severely impact the hoped- for tourism benefit that other states, like Colorado, have achieved. On the hotel front, some Oregon hotels are catering to cannabis users and openly encouraging them to stay in their establishments while others are actively enforcing their no smoking policy. Restaurants have expressed little concern, and some are creating private dining events pairing cannabis with food. The legalization of marijuana is a mixed bag. What is clear is that we need to anticipate the unintended consequences of legal recreational marijuana by looking at what other states have dealt with through the process. If anything, their experiences should encourage legislators to move slowly and cautiously, and for our industry to get prepared. •