(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the November-December issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)
Sweet Leaf once was one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis businesses in Colorado and considered a trailblazer in the industry’s retail chain concept.
Now, the company is a cautionary tale for other marijuana retailers.
Denver marijuana regulators stripped Sweet Leaf of its 26 municipal licenses in July, alleging the company’s top brass oversaw an illegal sales scheme called “looping,” which enabled some customers to make multiple purchases in one day that combined to exceed the legal sales limit.
Sweet Leaf’s owners struck a deal with state regulators in October to pay more than $2 million in fines, sell their remaining Colorado business permits and vacate their appeal.
That can be accomplished with technology and compliance training, according to industry experts, who provided Marijuana Business Magazine with tips to comply with customer and patient sales limits.
Click here to learn more about how to:
- Seek multiple confirmations of a customer’s ID.
- Require same-day repeat customers to provide earlier receipts.
- Identify point-of-sale systems that offer protections.
- Lean on seed-to-sale tracking systems and state software in medical cannabis markets.
