A police raid at an Amsterdam-style cannabis lounge in Denver, Colorado, has triggered a debate over where adults can smoke pot in a state that allows recreational marijuana consumption - but not in public.

Denver police showed up last week at Maryjane's Social Club, one of dozens of private pot-smoking clubs in Colorado operating in a legal gray area.

The officers handcuffed smokers, seized drug paraphernalia and ticketed the club's owner for violating state law banning indoor cigarette smoking. Three people were cited for smoking in public.