Walking with open containers of alcohol is usually illegal throughout Colorado. However, local governments may license and regulate common consumption areas called “entertainment districts.”
Within an entertainment district, you may walk with open alcohol containers and not have to dump them when leaving a particular bar or tavern. Though once you leave the boundaries of the entertainment district, you can no longer have an open alcoholic beverage container.1
In Aurora for example, there is a common consumption area in Stanley Marketplace. Patrons can engage in alcohol consumption together at an outdoor patio, even if they bought the drinks from different establishments. Each bar gives you disposable cups to hold your drinks when you leave the premises with the name of the bar written on the cup.2
Denver also passed a common consumption ordinance whereby businesses may apply for a license to have an entertainment district, though there are none at this time. However, you currently may consume 3.2 beer in city parks.3
Currently, Colorado has no “open alcohol consumption” areas where you may walk freely while drinking, such as in:
- New Orleans, Louisiana,
- Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee,
- Savannah, Georgia, and
- the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada (with certain restrictions).
Depending on where you are caught walking and drinking in Colorado, police can ticket you and charge you a small fine.
What about walking with marijuana?
It is always illegal to walk with an open marijuana container in Colorado. It does not matter that recreational marijuana possession of up to two ounces is legal.
The public consumption of up to two ounces of marijuana is a drug petty offense, carrying up to $100 in fines and up to 24 hours of community service. Possession of more than two ounces is a misdemeanor, as this chart shows:
| Amount of Marijuana in Colorado | Marijuana Drug Possession Penalties |
| More than 2 oz. | Level 2 drug misdemeanor: 3 to 12 months of jail time and/or $250 to $1,000 in fins |
| More than 6 oz. | Level 1 drug misdemeanor: 6 to 18 months in county jail and/or $500 to $5,000 |
Can I drive with an open container in Colorado?
Colorado’s open container laws under CRS 42-4-1305 prohibit anyone in the passenger area of a motor vehicle from having an alcohol or marijuana container with a broken seal. (The passenger area extends to the glove compartment as well.) It does not matter whether you are unimpaired or safely parked on a public road or public parking lot.
Open container violations are prosecuted as a class A traffic infraction. The penalties include a $50 fine and a $16 surcharge for alcohol and a $7.80 surcharge for marijuana. You may also face a DUI arrest if you seem under the influence.4
Additional Reading
For more information about open container laws, refer to the following:
- Open Container Laws By State 2024 Guide – Forbes.
- Open Container and Consumption Statutes – National Conference of State Legislatures.
- Open Containers of Alcohol in Motor Vehicles – Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS).
- States With Open Container Laws Have Fewer Alcohol-involved Vehicle Crashes – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
- Las Vegas exploring possibility of open container law in Arts District – 3 News (KSNV-NBC).
Legal References
- CRS 44-3-301; 2018 Colorado Liquor Law Changes, Colorado Department of Revenue; Liquor Common Consumption, and Common Consumption Areas: What are they and how do they work? Denver Business Licensing Center. SB 11-273.
- Meghan Lopez, Should common consumption be allowed for alcohol in Denver?, Denver 7 ABC (May 15, 2019).
- Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Late to the Party: Denver’s Common Consumption Area Program Still Dry, Westword (February 24, 2022); John Wenzel, What you need to know so you can enjoy drinking beer and wine in a Denver park, Denver Post (June 12, 2019).
- CRS 42-4-1305.
