The Denver District Attorney's Office announced formal charges against 10 people Thursday afternoon in wake of raids at multiple pot shops earlier this month that netted 12 arrests.
This came in wake of complaints that cannabis chain Sweet Leaf was not complying with Colorado state law regarding the sale of marijuana – namely, that purchasers could receive more than one ounce of pot a day.
Five of the Sweet Leaf employees arrested now face felony charges. Stuart Walker, 24, Krystal Mauro, 30, Leeanne Henley, 25, Natalie Betters, 25, and Deann Miller, 45, each face charges for felony distribution of marijuana, up to four announces, according to a news release from the Denver DA.
The other suspects, identified as Christopher Arseson, 28, Cassidy Thomas, 22, Joseph Gerlick, 28, Andrea Cutrer, 27, and Devin Waigand, 22, are each charged with misdemeanor distribution of marijuana, more than one ounce.
In wake of the investigation, all 26 marijuana licenses held by Sweet Leaf dispensaries in town were suspended for selling more than an ounce of pot - the legal limit - to its customers, according to the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses.
At some of Sweet Leaf's Denver locations, undercover detectives were able to walk in and buy pot anywhere from seven to 16 times a day, according to court documents.
In one documented case, a budtender sold to the same detective nine times in the span of fewer than two hours, sometimes completing his transactions a mere 15 minutes apart.
While the rules from marijuana shops ban them from selling more than one ounce per transaction, Colorado's laws say you can only possess an ounce at a time – making cases of “looping” such as this illegal.
Those laws, by the way, don't care how many transactions it takes to add up to more than an ounce. All the same: the state rules will change on New Year's Day to make it clearer.
