Denver’s Sweet Leaf dispensary chain has been hit with yet another round of fines by a judge, totaling $8.8 million, according to a Denver Post report.
Denver District Judge Edward Bronfin levied the fines after Sweet Leaf allegedly violated commercial leases on four different properties. The owners of Sweet Leaf failed to pay rent, late fees, and interest, he said.
The judgement follows a long string of court battles for Sweet Leaf after the dispensary chain was raided in a sting operation by Denver police.
The Denver Police Department accused Sweet Leaf of “looping,” a sales practice wherein a business knowingly circumvents the maximum daily allotment for cannabis consumers under Colorado regulations.
After a protracted battle, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division in October ordered Sweet Leaf to relinquish 29 cannabis business licenses and pay $2 million in fines.
Some people have hailed the new $8.8 million judgement as proof that cannabis businesses will be held to the same contractual standards as other businesses. This does provide assurances for those not directly involved with flower production but who do business with those producers.
Sweet Leaf’s owners still maintain they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. Attorneys representing the Denver dispensary chain said they would not comment on pending litigation.