A recreational marijuana shop in Aspen was cited this week for selling pot to an underage customer in a rare case for the industry in Colorado.
The shop, Native Roots, confirmed to The Denver Post on Friday that one of their employees sold marijuana to a state enforcement officer posing as an underage customer.
In the 19 months since recreational marijuana has been legal in Colorado, recreational shops — for the majority — have been , particularly on the hot button topic of underage possession and consumption.
By comparison, for selling to minors. Washington state legalized recreational marijuana at the same time Colorado did but delayed its rollout of recreational sales until July 8, 2014.
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“Needless to say, we’re extremely remorseful,” said Dave Cuesta, who handles compliance and licensing for Native Roots.
“We’ve been through several sting operations and this is the first time our employees have sold to undercover agents,” he added.
Colorado marijuana
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According to Josh Ginsberg, CEO of Native Roots, one employee was cited in the sting.
“Saying that I’m appalled and outraged by this act would be an understatement,” Ginsberg said in a statement. “Native Roots holds itself to the highest standards, and as a company we’ve put measures in place to ensure the highest standards are met.”
Ginsberg said the employee in question and the Aspen store’s manager have been fired in the citation’s wake. He said “swift and company-wide action” will be taken to avoid further underage sales.
Native Roots is one of Colorado’s largest recreational marijuana enterprises with 11 stores throughout the state, including one in Dillon that opened this week.
Furthermore, Aspen is one of the state’s most booming recreational pot markets.
While medical-marijuana stores can sell to registered patients under 21, recreational stores can only sell to those over 21 and must check identification. Stores that are found selling to someone underage could have their license suspended or revoked or face a fine up to $100,000.
“It’s not something I hear about happening in Colorado,” Tyler Henson, president of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said of recreational shops selling to minors.
Henson said as an industry, recreational marijuana enterprises have been vigilant about selling to minors.
“Are we going to see these types of incidents in the future?” Henson said. “I’m going to say it’s bound to happen. I don’t know of anyone out there who says they are going to willfully sell to a minor.”
The Colorado Department of Revenue, whose Marijuana Enforcement Division oversees compliance for the state’s pot shops, did not immediately return a request for confirmation of the citation.
In January, during the X-Games in Aspen, to minors for underage marijuana possession and consumption.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
