Two Aspen, CO shops cited for selling to underage customers

[RussBLib]

This is the kind of stuff that can NOT happen if the industry wants to stay legit. Fortunately, those people were terminated.

Two Aspen pot shops cited for underage sales in sting

The CEO of Native Roots says the employee who made the underage sale and the Aspen store's manager have been fired in the wake of the citation

Two recreational marijuana shops in Aspen were cited this week by state regulators for selling pot to an underage customer in a set of rare cases for the industry in Colorado. The Marijuana Enforcement Division confirmed that it issued two citations after conducting seven underage compliance checks in Aspen.

Since January 2014, the division has conducted about 130 underage compliance checks statewide, resulting in a total of nine violations, MED spokesman Tommy Moore said. In the 19 months since recreational marijuana has been legal in Colorado, recreational shops — for the majority — have been lauded for their compliance of state law, particularly on the hot button topic of underage possession and consumption.

“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. “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.”

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.

Full story.