According to an annual breakdown of marijuana crime, business licensing and tax revenue, Denver dispensaries reported 98 burglaries or attempted burglaries in 2023, as well as six instances of larceny. That's down about 38 percent from 162 reported burglary and larceny attempts in 2022.
Because of the products they sell and the large amounts of cash with which they operate, dispensaries are often viewed as easy targets by thieves. In 2020 alone, there were 175 reported burglary attempts at Denver dispensaries, the city's report notes.
Although dispensaries still deal with theft and building damage from break-in attempts, the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses suggests that storage requirements implemented in 2022 have contributed to the decrease in crime.
Dispensaries are now required to keep at least one safe that is secured to the building and located in a limited-access area to store marijuana products and cash. If stores don't have a safe, then on-site security guards, strict surveillance and physical barriers "to keep cars from smashing the building" must be added.
The numbers speak for themselves, but cars are still smashing into marijuana buildings. Two different crime rings involving thieves who steal vehicles, use them to break into dispensaries and then sell stolen dispensary goods on Facebook were busted by Denver-area law enforcement late last year.
In an unrelated incident in late January, a car was driven into the front of ACA, a popular dispensary at 1911 South Broadway, in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the store, according to employees.
Less than a month later, thieves drove cars into the Herbal Cure dispensary's storage bays in an attempt to steal marijuana (the general manager said nothing of value was inside at the time). This came one day after another break-in at the Herbal Cure, during which thieves broke the store's popular fish tank, killing all the fish inside.
Several more dispensaries experienced break-in attempts later in the year, including multiple Everbloom locations and Fox Cannabis. However, suspects rarely get away with more than a few hundred dollars' worth of edibles or products on display, according to dispensary managers — though large sums of cash and entire ATMs have been stolen in some cases.
Industry, Dispensary Sales in Decline
The report also detailed a sizable decline in operating marijuana businesses across Denver. According to Excise & Licenses data, there are almost 20 percent fewer marijuana business locations this year when compared to 2018, when the city tallied 492 open marijuana dispensaries, growing operations, extractions and other businesses.From 2022 to 2023, Denver dispensary sales dropped 14 percent, the city report shows. Last year, Denver dispensaries accounted for $453 million in marijuana sales, the lowest annual total since 2015, and around 47 percent less than their peak in 2020, when $716 million worth of marijuana products were sold in Denver.
"In recent years as more cities in Colorado have opted in to allow marijuana sales, Denver marijuana sales (retail and medical) have made up a diminishing portion of Colorado’s overall marijuana sales (retail and medical) though the decrease slowed last year," the report reads. "Sales totals in Denver may be impacted by more cities and states across the United States adopting marijuana legalization, possibly resulting in less people coming to Denver to purchase marijuana."
Despite declining sales as the rest of the country continues to legalize the plant, Mayor Mike Johnston says that Denver "has a lot to be proud of for what we accomplished as the first legalized recreational cannabis market in America, and over the past decade, we’ve found ways to continue to improve."
In a letter attached to the report, Johnston praises Denver's efforts to spur social equity ownership in legal marijuana in the face of an industry recession, highlighting entrepreneurial support, licensing priorities and reduced local fees for business owners registered under the social equity designation, which was created to help communities impacted by the drug war. He also says it's time to open more cannabis-friendly venues in Denver, of which there are only two in operation (as well as a small handful of cannabis-friendly party vans).
"Denver is committed to supporting homegrown cannabis businesses in our community, and we’re proud of the strides we’ve made in this space. We will continue to provide training through our technical assistance program administered by the Department of Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO). The city also provides license navigation services for entrepreneurs going through the process to ensure compliance with state and city laws and successfully apply for a license," Johnston's letter continues. "We will also continue our push to help businesses get licensed to provide legal and safe places for consumption."
See the full report below:
