Medical and Retail Marijuana Licenses and Permits

On April 20, 2021, Mayor Michael Hancock signed Council Bills 21-0216(PDF, 399KB) and 21-0217(PDF, 326KB), making significant changes to the city’s marijuana laws. These changes include: 
  • Combining Denver's medical marijuana code and retail marijuana code;
  • Removing the cap on store and cultivation locations; and
  • Creating licenses and permits that allow for social consumption and delivery of marijuana.

The bills also created a social equity program that reduces barriers to entry into the marijuana industry by:

  • Allowing only Social Equity Applicants to conduct marijuana deliveries for three years (until July 1, 2024);
  • Ensuring that Social Equity Applicants have exclusive access to most marijuana licenses for six years (until July 1, 2027); and
  • Waiving application fees and reducing license fees for Social Equity Applicants. 

The Department will need some time to update its application process and forms in line with the new law. For this reason, the Department is not currently accepting applications for new medical or retail marijuana business licenses. We are also not currently accepting any applications for a transfer of location of any marijuana business.  

We expect to resume accepting applications in June 2021. Learn more in our Frequently Asked Questions section, which we link to below.

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