The Sweet Leaf dispensary chain, shut down in December after a police sting, was a criminal enterprise that pocketed millions from an illicit "looping" scheme that allowed customers to purchase the maximum amount of marijuana multiple times in a day, a municipal hearing office ruled.
Read Cannabis Business Times's coverage of the Sweet Leaf raids
As a result, Sweet Leaf Marijuana Centers should be stripped of its 26 retail, cultivation and manufacturing licenses, according to recommendations released Monday by Denver hearing officer Suzanne Fasing.
"Sweet Leaf's scheme at the very least permitted the unlawful possession by its customers and its scheme was not the action of a 'reasonable licensee,'" she wrote. "Not only did Sweet Leaf fail to take action to stop the illegal purchases, but it actively aided and abetted the illegal purchases through its looping scheme."
Ashley Kilroy, the city's director of marijuana policy, will have the final say on Sweet Leaf's fate, following a 10-day period for objections and a five-day period for a response.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
