Broomfield, CO Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Section 9-19-020(B) of the Broomfield Municipal Code defines open and public consumption broadly: any street, alley, highway, sidewalk, parking lot, park, playground, city-owned property, front yard, or any other place the general public has a right to resort to for business, entertainment or another lawful purpose counts as public. The only carve-out is consumption inside a private residence. The ordinance sits in Chapter 9-19, Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia, which also bars anyone under 21 from possessing, consuming or using an ounce or less of marijuana under subsection (A), unless that person holds a valid medical marijuana registry card.

Marijuana is defined in Section 9-19-010 to include all parts of the cannabis plant, its resin, seeds and any marijuana concentrate, while excluding industrial hemp and sterilized, non-germinating seed. Enforcement runs through the Broomfield Police Department. Section 9-19-040(A) sets the penalty for an adult violation of 9-19-020 at a fine capped at $100.00, processed through the administrative civil penalty track in Chapter 1-13 rather than municipal court. Chapter 1-13, added by Ordinance No. 2271 in 2025, lets an enforcement officer issue a notice of violation with a hearing and appeal option instead of criminal prosecution.

A juvenile who violates 9-19-020, however, is carved out of that administrative track entirely under Section 9-19-040(B) and must make a mandatory court appearance. The chapter traces to its 1979 origin under Ordinance 343 and was most recently amended by Ordinance 2003 in 2014.