A customer rolls a cannabis joint at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis sales and hospitality establishment in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Since legal recreational marijuana sales began in 2014, Coloradans have had a plethora of places to buy weed — but not a ton of places to actually consume it.
For many years, consumption spaces like and in Denver invited tokers to come and bring their own substances for use, but locals’ options were limited to just that — until recently.
JAD’s Mile High Smoke opened in late April as the state’s first recreational sales and hospitality business in the state, a formal title meaning a lounge where consumers can both buy weed and smoke, eat or drink it onsite. That means you can literally belly up to a bar and order a non-alcoholic, THC-infused beer and a gram of marijuana served with a side of rolling papers.
It’s not so much a novel concept as it is a move towards truly destigmatizing cannabis use, according to owner Josh Davis. He believes that once JAD’s proves the model can work, there will be “thousands” around the state and the country. ()
“I’m done with people hiding in the closet about smoking weed,” Davis previously told The Denver Post. “I’m trying to change the game, I’m trying to show the world what the future of cannabis is like.”
JAD’s Mile High Smoke sells “the basic, ‘I want to get high’ supply,” David said, including marijuana flower, single-use vape pens, concentrates, edibles like gummies, chocolates and THC-infused beer, and more. The lounge also provides pipes, dab rigs and papers for smokers.
There are limits when you visit — per state law, consumers can purchase up to two grams of flower, a half-gram of concentrate or 20 milligrams of edibles (served up to 10 milligrams at a time) during one trip.
Take a virtual tour of JAD’s Mile High Smoke below:
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Evening falls on JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Budtender Josh Howard works at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis hospitality establishment in the state.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Partners Tyler Boeff and Mikki Plautz relax together at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Cannabis in various forms is behind the counter at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Cannabis buds of different strains fill jars at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
DENVER, CO - APRIL 29, 2022: Snacks, or “munchies,” are seen behind the counter at left at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo by Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
A customer rolls a cannabis joint at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis sales and hospitality establishment in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
David Medina places cannabis in a joint at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
David Medina smokes a joint at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
David Medina exhales smoke after taking a hit of a joint at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
A cannabis bud is seen through a magnifying device at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
DENVER, CO - APRIL 29, 2022: A customer plays arcade games at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo by Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Calie Clark smokes cannabis from a bong with her husband, left in glasses, and friends at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver on Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo by Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Calie Clark smokes cannabis from a bong with friends at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Cannabis-themed pins decorate Tyler Boeff’s lanyard at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Cannabis joints and ash fill an ash tray at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis hospitality establishment in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
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Evening falls on JAD’s Mile High Smoke, the first cannabis lounge in the state, in Denver, Colorado on Friday, April 29, 2022.