A north Denver dispensary is in hot water with the city for operating an unapproved drive-thru window for marijuana sales.
The Healing Tree has been operating in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, at 3995 East 50th Avenue, since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. During that time, executive orders from Governor Jared Polis allowed dispensaries to operate to-go and drive-thru windows for marijuana sales in order to limit human contact. That executive order expired in 2021, but that year, both the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and the City of Denver adopted rules making drive-thru windows permanent — if the dispensary received local approval.
Operating a drive-thru marijuana window comes with a specific set of rules for security surveillance and transactions. Although there are a few dispensaries in Denver that modified their premises to continue operating sales windows, the majority of to-go and drive-thru windows closed last year.
According to the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, the Healing Tree was never approved by the city for drive-thru marijuana sales, but the dispensary has continued to operate its drive-thru window since the executive order expired. That window, building modifications and several surveillance violations now have the dispensary in trouble with local licensing officials and the Denver City Attorney's Office, which on December 8 sent the Healing Tree a show-cause order threatening fines, licensing discipline and even possible revocation.
The Healing Tree did apply for local approval to keep the drive-thru window open, but failed a September inspection "for multiple reasons," according to the city's show-cause order, including the window's continued operation after the COVID-19 order ended last year. The Healing Tree also lacked necessary signage for drive-thru sales and violated inventory storage and surveillance rules inside of the dispensary, city inspectors noted.
Inspectors returned to the Healing Tree in October, but reported that "many of the violations had not been addressed." The Healing Tree did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but when Westword visited the dispensary on December 12, the drive-thru window was still in operation. The employee operating the drive-thru window, who declined to be named, said he was unaware of any pending discipline from the city.
Excise and Licenses doesn't comment on ongoing investigation and enforcement actions by the city, but communications manager Eric Escudero says that any business violating city rules is subject to disciplinary action, whether that be "citations, fines, license suspension or revocation."
"Fortunately, compliance among Denver cannabis businesses remains high," he says. "However, there are occurrences where inspectors find violations of city or state rules and regulations and the city is forced to take enforcement action, with the goal to get the business in compliance."
Business compliance was the main topic of discussion during Excise and Licenses' most recent public check-in with the local marijuana industry on December 8. Officials with the Denver Fire Department and Denver Department of Public Health & Environment echoed Escudero's comments regarding high compliance in the pot industry, but noted that storage of dry materials and odor-control plans were two areas where business owners had to improve.