Mountain Pot Shops Cited For Underage Sales After Undercover Sting
IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A series of undercover operations conducted by authorities at dispensaries in Colorado's high country are proof that the state is enforcing its legal pot laws and watching out to keep marijuana out of the hands of children.
That's the opinion of Fifth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown, who oversees four different mountain counties and says the stings, which led to several citations, should send a message to the federal government.
"Unless you have some level of enforcement people are going to break the law," Brown said.
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The Colorado Department of Revenue's marijuana enforcement division is in charge of regulating dispensaries. They sent agents into pot shops on the Interstate 70 corridor, from Idaho Springs to Silver Plume.
In one exhange, which was captured on camera and shared with CBS4, a budtender asks an agent for identification but still sells pot despite the fact the license showed the buyer was younger than 21.
"It's the responsible to the seller to make sure that they are over the age of 21," Brown said.
The Highway, a dispensary in Dumont, didn't pass the test. An owner told CBS4 he is not happy his employee didn't follow their company guidelines. He also said he welcomes the state's oversight.
"We fired the employee right away because it was against our standard operating procedure. It was inadvertant. We would not sell to underage children," the owner said.
"I mean when this was going down I would say it was a little disturbing that it was so easy for people under the age of 21 to get their hands on marijuana product," Brown said.
Retail and medical marijuana stores across Colorado have been placed on notice that more stings are possible.
