Police raid eight Sweet Leaf Marijuana Center locations in Denver and Aurora

[bobandtorey]

Denver police on Thursday raided eight Sweet Leaf Marijuana Center locations in Denver and Aurora and arrested 12 people as part of a yearlong investigation into illegal marijuana sales.

The criminal activities alleged included sales of cannabis in violation of the 1-ounce-per-person, per-day limits established under Colorado marijuana law, Denver police officials said in a statement.

The Denver Department of Excise and Licenses in concert with the police action suspended 26 licenses for medical, retail, cultivation and extraction operations that conduct business as Sweet Leaf, said Dan Rowland, spokesman for the excise and licenses department.

The suspension order stated: “Reasonable grounds and probable cause exists to believe that respondents have engaged in deliberate and willful violations of state and local laws or regulations, and/or that the public health, safety and welfare requires emergency action.”

All Sweet Leaf stores in Colorado — 10 in Denver and one in Aurora — were closed Thursday.

Names of the 12 people arrested were not immediately released. They were being booked into the Downtown Detention Center.

Police said the operation was conducted after a criminal investigation into the illegal distribution of marijuana at eight locations. The alleged criminal violations are related to the sale of marijuana in excess of allowable amounts established by Amendment 64, which allows for the personal use of marijuana, according to a police department news release.

No other marijuana businesses were included in the raids, police said.

Sweet Leaf representatives said in an emailed statement that they were surprised by the police raids.

“It is unclear at this point exactly what actions, if any, Sweet Leaf took to cause the city to issue this order,” the statement said. “Sweet Leaf is cooperating with the authorities to resolve this issue and hopes to have all of their stores back in operation as soon as possible.”

It was not immediately clear to what extent Sweet Leaf’s facilities were affected beyond Denver and Aurora.

Although the Aurora store was raided, and no one answered the location’s phone on Thursday, the city has not suspended Sweet Leaf’s business license for its East Sixth Avenue store, said Julie Patterson, an Aurora spokeswoman.

“We are waiting to receive more information from police investigators to determine whether we need to take any action,” she said.

Sweet Leaf’s dispensary in Portland, Ore., remained opened, a person who answered the store’s phone said. The employee said store officials declined to comment.

The coordinated enforcement action was solely a Colorado agency effort headed by Denver police, which partnered with the Aurora Police Department, Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver City Attorney’s Office, Denver Department of Excise and Licenses and Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was not involved in the operation, spokesman Randy Ladd said.
The Sweet Leaf locations in Denver that were raided are:

 

http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/12/14/denver-police-raid-marijuana-stores/94629/

[Restorium2]

1-ounce-per-person, per-day limits established under Colorado marijuana law, Denver police officials said in a statement.

Lets see here, how much alcohol can one person buy in a day????? All they want if they are an adult? Cigarettes? Oh, you can buy a truck load of them? They both kill people regularly and cannabis doesn't? Something isn't right with this picture. How can something like this still go on? 

[Restorium2]

public health, safety and welfare requires emergency action

Right!!!!! Lets panic about how this could destroy America at it roots!!!!!!!! OMG this is soooooo terrible. 

[Restorium2]

I wonder how much they spent investigating people getting more than an ounce of cannabis in a day? That's the real crime here. 

[t-pain]

i thought if there was a violation, it would be a fine, like a bar or store selling alcohol to a minor ...

[t-pain]

also i bet all their raid gear was getting dusty after not raiding people for a few years.

 

we have to raid them because .... they are a store and its open to the public and they are registered and licensed... send in the big guns!

 

watch i bet they fucked up with this. since i think they also have similar law saying LEO can check books at any time? and monitored state wide?

 

it all sounds like a lot of bs

[t-pain]

the 1oz day limit is related to the interstate commerce federal law probably. if you bought more than that the feds think you selling illegally or something