Pot Shops Not Selling to Kids

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 7: Marijuana plants grow at Perennial Holistic Wellness Center, a not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensary in operation since 2006, on September 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. A group of activists have submitted about 50,000 signatures in an effort to force a referendum on a marijuana dispensary ban in Los Angeles to take effect next week. A minimum of 27,425 valid signatures from registered voters is needed to let voters decide on the issue in March, and until the number can be verified, the ban will not be enforced. . The ban would not prevent patients or cooperatives of two or three people to grow their own in small amounts. Californians voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996, clashing with federal drug laws. (Photo via David McNew/Getty Images)

State regulators and local police in Colorado found no pot shops breaking the law in a series of sting operations launched after legal recreational marijuana sales began in 2014.

Mirroring alcohol laws, it is illegal in Colorado to sell recreational marijuana to people under 21 years of age.

Medical marijuana may be purchased by shoppers over 18 years old if they are carrying a valid medical marijuana card.

Sting operations targeted 20 marijuana stores in Denver and Pueblo in recent months – a fraction of the hundreds of businesses now licensed to sell the newly-legal drug.

The sting operations involve sending underage shoppers into stores to attempt to purchase marijuana, while being supervised by police officers.

Shops who break the law and sell to underage customers face hefty fines and can have their licenses suspended, restricted or revoked.

Despite the limited scope of the sting operations in the fast-expanding marijuana industry, the announcement provides a welcome image boost to pot shops.

“We are pleased with the results and will continue to monitor the businesses to ensure that the compliance efforts are maintained,” Lewis Koski, Director of the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, said.

Earlier this year, an underage college student jumped to his death from a hotel window in Denver after consuming a marijuana-infused cookie while visiting Colorado with friends.


Pot Shops Not Selling to Kids

Article by Brandon Rittiman for KUSA

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