Denver to Launch the First MJ Spa in the U.S.
According to Denver newspapers, the nation’s first spa to use MJ oils and extracts in its treatments is set to open soon in a historic mansion just a few blocks from the State Capitol. Utopia All Natural Wellness Spa has officially applied for a business license with the city council, planning to open at 1244 Grant Street in the historic Creswell Mansion. This spa will be among the first public venues in Denver to allow the public use of MJ, in accordance with municipal law number 300, passed at the end of 2016.
The application is currently under review by city officials, who have promised to announce their decision regarding the spa’s opening within the next 60 days. The owner, Cindy Sovine, expects that authorities will take their time with the approval process and hopes to begin operations within the next 90 days. “Our team has worked long and hard to set up and license the spa. I think we can wait a couple more months while officials complete the necessary checks,” she told reporters.
Ms. Sovine hopes her spa will become a major Denver attraction, drawing both medical tourists and recreational MJ enthusiasts.
Special MJ Consumption Areas and Services
Due to city laws prohibiting smoking in public places, the spa will feature two designated MJ consumption areas where clients can freely enjoy their own MJ edibles and smoking extracts in a social setting. One area will be indoors, while the other will be located on the spa’s patio.
In addition to massages using MJ oils and MJ yoga classes, the spa also plans to host special events for clients, such as MJ-infused banquets and cooking classes on using MJ in cuisine. Any adult client can book an MJ massage or wellness course, while loyalty card holders will have access to the smoking areas for consuming their own products.
“Overall, we hope to create a friendly and social atmosphere in the spa to ensure maximum relaxation and comfort for all our clients,” Sovine said in an interview.
Future Plans: MJ Café and Retail
Ms. Sovine is also negotiating with the city to open an MJ café at the spa, serving coffee and light snacks infused with plant extracts. The spa will also have a small gift shop where guests can purchase various cosmetic products containing healing MJ extracts and accessories made from the plant’s fibers.
“Every MJ enthusiast prefers natural products over synthetics,” Sovine said about the spa’s future offerings. The shop will offer a wide range of oils, lotions, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals containing CBD compounds.
The Story Behind the Location
Sovine was able to secure the centrally located property not only thanks to her connections with a major law firm but also due to a stroke of luck. In early 2012, the Creswell Mansion housed the headquarters of Vicente Sederberg, a law firm instrumental in passing the regional recreational legalization bill. The firm kept offices there until late last year, but the building was mostly vacant after the successful passage of Amendment 64. Eventually, the firm decided to offer the prime location to their acquaintance and longtime client, Sovine, at a reduced price.
“I had consulted with these lawyers several times on bills expanding therapeutic MJ programs. After they learned about my plan to open a spa, they invited me to see the mansion, and I immediately fell in love with it. Because I was determined to open the spa there, the attorneys agreed to let it go for a lower price,” Sovine told reporters.
From Advocacy to Entrepreneurship
Sovine says the idea for an MJ spa came to her long before the campaign for full legalization in Colorado. She first thought of it in 2006, when she began working as a professional lobbyist in the pharmaceutical industry. Around that time, she learned her father was dying of lymphoma. By early 2016, Sovine left her previous job, determined to make her spa dream a reality. That same year, she began working with activists to help pass a bill protecting and expanding the rights of therapeutic MJ users. This law, known as “Jack’s Law,” allowed children who needed MJ medicine to legally use it at school, helping hundreds of seriously ill kids attend school normally.
“After Jack’s Law passed, I joined supporters of municipal bill number 300. I’ve always believed that legalization isn’t complete without places for public MJ consumption,” she said.
After helping with several MJ projects, Sovine finally had the chance to realize her long-held dream. “To my surprise, no one else thought of opening an MJ spa, so after carefully planning the business and finding partners, I decided to do it myself. I wanted to give people suffering from serious and terminal illnesses, like my late father, the chance to use MJ medicine in a comfortable, healing environment where patients could relax and connect with each other,” she said.
A Team of Advocates and Community Support
The spa’s team includes many well-known activists and lawyers who previously worked with Sovine on various MJ bills, such as Kayvan Khalatbari, Stephanie Davis, Jordan Wellington, and Eric Dyckman.
Sovine hopes her business will become a model for the successful use of legal MJ for social good, inspiring other regions that have legalized MJ but have yet to establish legal consumption spaces. “Creating special, regulated MJ consumption areas will help solve the problem of people smoking MJ on the street, which critics of reform often complain about,” she noted. “Establishing consumption zones is a reasonable compromise for both supporters of full legalization and those still unsure about the safety of such reforms.”
Community and Business Support
Currently, Sovine’s spa is only the second business in Denver to apply for a license of this kind. The first was a coffee shop called Coffee Joint. Unlike the coffee shop, Sovine’s business has received support not only from all its future neighbors but also from five other business organizations promoting entrepreneurship in the city, including Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, Cultural Arts Residential Organization, Denver Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation, The Shire of Capitol Hill, and Unsinkables, Inc.
“We sincerely hope the spa will be a worthy addition to our neighborhood and the entire city,” Sovine said. “We welcome guests from all over the U.S. and the world and are happy to provide any information about using MJ extracts in wellness treatments.”