9 APRIL 17-23, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Step outside in Denver on April 20, and you’ll probably smell something burning in the air. As the fi rst city to decriminalize cannabis and the capital of the fi rst state to legalize the plant for recreational purposes, Denver will be forever linked to that sweet, sticky stuff. And on the high holiday known as 4/20, you’ll see plenty of public celebration, no- tably at Civic Center Park during an annual festival that traditionally has drawn tens of thousands of people who openly light up. Yet Denver has never had much of a “legal” cannabis hospitality scene. The 4/20 festival has always been unsanctioned for cannabis use — that’s never stopped the majority of attendees and performers from smoking, however, and police haven’t issued a public consumption citation there in years — and underground or private businesses and events allowing cannabis use have seen limited success. Like a tightly rolled joint, cannabis hos- pitality burns slowly with little oxygen in Denver. Strict rules and unproven business models dominate the small but growing sec- tor, and the Mile High City isn’t collecting cannabis tourism dollars as it did when retail weed was less common in the United States. But as another 4/20 approaches, licensed cannabis bars, lounges, tour services and day spas are fi nally a reality in Denver. This year, four permitted cannabis-friendly establish- ments will be open by April 20, compared to just one in 2024. It only took thirteen years, but Denver now has a burgeoning cannabis venue space that doesn’t operate in the shadows. Tetra Lounge owner Dewayne Benjamin is pumped up this April, physically and spiri- tually. The longtime weightlifter regularly bench-presses 120-pound dumbbells, but “only because that’s the heaviest at my gym.” Physically imposing but soft-spoken, the 44-year-old can go up to 200 pounds in each hand. He also smokes a little weed before hitting the gym. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. When you get into it, it’s hard to stop,” Benjamin says on an early April morning, fresh out of the weight room. “Kind of like with what I’ve been doing with cannabis.” Benjamin’s cannabis-friendly lounge at 3039 Walnut Street hasn’t been around quite as long as he’s been lifting, but the venture has become one strenuous workout. After opening Tetra as a private cannabis club in 2018, before Colorado state lawmakers created a pot hospitality license, Benjamin fought to keep the lounge open for over six years while he chased the right to operate as a bring-your-own-cannabis space that hosts live music, industry nights and other events. Now Tetra is fi nally open to the public for a $20 daily entry fee, with monthly and annual memberships at discounted rates. City licensing offi cials have largely been patient as Benjamin worked to transition Tetra from private to public, and he’s received a grant from the state’s Cannabis Business Of- fi ce to help pay for required building changes, including ventilation work. This year will be Tetra’s fi rst 4/20 as a licensed cannabis venue, and Benjamin wants to go big. National music and comedy acts like Devin the Dude and Ky- Mani Marley are coming to Tetra from April 18 to April 20, and the venue will host art, food and other cannabis-inspired events at Tetra throughout the three-day span. “It’s a very large transition from the past six years. This year we were actually able to work with licensed brands, dispensaries, sponsors and talent on a more legitimate level,” Benjamin says. EVAN SEMÓN PHOTOGRAPHY continued on page 10
