Cannabis Grow May Lose License Over Local Opposition

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A Denver marijuana business could, for the first time, lose its cultivation license because of neighborhood opposition.

The case underscores the fact that the Denver’s MJ industry faces a real risk from local pushback.

Starbuds, a Colorado cannabis chain, could be forced to forfeit its license to cultivate 240 plants at its original retail location if a senior regulator follows through on an agency official’s recommendation, The Denver Post reported.

Neighborhood opposition led to a hearing with a license renewal officer under the city’s department of excise and licenses. The officer recommended the license renewal be rejected, potentially setting up a landmark case in which neighborhood opposition leads to such an action.

If the excise and license agency’s executive director sides with the hearing officer, Starbuds would lose its grow license but would still allowed to sell cannabis at the same location.

Though arguably a small issue when it comes to the industry as a whole, the fight represents a larger battle that the cannabis industry has been fighting for years, even in Colorado, where the marijuana trade is relatively stable.

Neighborhood activists in Denver, in particular, have complained the city is saturated with MJ businesses that are a blight on the community.

Starbuds is fighting the recommendation, and the agency director may issue a decision in the coming week, the Post reported.