Healing Treee Dispensary Can Continue Drive-Thru Sales After $15,000 Fine

A Denver dispensary agreed to pay a $15,000 fine last week for unsanctioned drive-thru sales and several other infractions, but the to-go window is now in the clear.

The Healing Treee, a recreational dispensary in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, was cited in December by the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses for illegal drive-thru sales. After more than two months of hearings and negotiations, the Healing Tree's ownership group, Centennial Development Company LLC, and Excise & Licenses reached a settlement that allows the drive-thru window to stay open.

The Healing Treee opened at 3995 East 50th Avenue in 2020, around the time that executive orders from Governor Jared Polis altered retail operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those changes allowed dispensaries to operate to-go windows for marijuana sales, but that order expired in 2021. The state Marijuana Enforcement Division and Denver City Council both permanently approved to-go windows soon after, but dispensaries must meet a specific set of rules for security surveillance and transactions in order to become permitted for such sales.

According to the Department of Excise & Licenses, the Healing Treee continued operating the drive-thru window after the executive order expired, but didn't apply for a permit until September 2022. That application was eventually denied, with the dispensary's continued unsanctioned use of the drive-thru, lack of necessary signage, and violations in inventory storage and surveillance cited.

Despite the application's rejection, however, the Healing Treee continued to operate the drive-thru window, according to a show-cause order issued by Excise and Licenses on December 8. A week after that order came down, a Westword trip to Healing Treee found the drive-thru was still open and signs continued to promote the service.

Facing license revocation, the Healing Treee reached a settlement with Excise & Licenses on March 7. Under that agreement, the dispensary's ownership will pay a $15,000 fine to the city, with another $45,000 and additional license penalties coming if additional violations of the retail marijuana code are committed within one year.

But in the meantime, the department says that the Healing Treee's ability to use the drive-thru window is wide open.

The Healing Treee did not respond to requests for comment.

Editor's note: A version of this article published earlier today included incorrect information from the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses stating that the Healing Treee had not applied for an application for drive-thru sales, nor had it been approved for one. Excise & Licenses has since corrected its statements, and says that the Healing Treee has successfully filed a licensing amendment to allow drive-thru sales.