Underage and buy weed? Good luck scoring in this state

Now that marijuana is legal in many places, many people are concerned about teens and access. And while this positive attitude towards the drug might persuade young people to try it or become less afraid of it, legal retailers, at least the one in Colorado, are doing everything in their power to prevent it.

On Tuesday, Colorado regulators said there was 98% compliance with the requirement to show identification before entering cannabis retailers. The report shows that 190 compliance checks have been conducted so far this year, with only four instances not requiring credentials.

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Colorado state law makes it clear that failing to comply with this law can quickly lead to major problems for these companies, as employees can be caught jeopardizing their cannabis licenses and face fines of up to $100,000 .

“The unauthorized sale of regulated marijuana to a person under the age of 21 is considered a license violation affecting public safety,” the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) said. “Companies must remain vigilant and take internal measures to prevent underage access, and while the MED continues to monitor licensee compliance, it will assess the business practices that licensees have adopted to prevent unauthorized/underage sales.”

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Colorado is asking its cannabis dealers to screen everyone who enters the store and actively look for people looking through the store who look like they are under the age of 21 and verify their age with ID. Retailers have the power to turn people away if they think their ID is fake.

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While surprising in their coherence, the data shared by Colorado was supported by other studies that make it clear that cannabis legalization does not increase underage drug use.

“Legalized cannabis retail sales may be followed by an increased incidence of cannabis outbreaks among older adults, but not among minors who cannot purchase cannabis products at a retail store,” wrote the authors of a study on legalization and underage cannabis use published this year .