The Bellagio resort and casino in Las Vegas, Nev. (Courtesy of MGM Resorts) A gambler raised $1.3 million from investors who believed in his plans for a hand sanitizer and CBD-infused coffee bottling plant in Colorado, then spent most of that money at Las Vegas casinos, on designer watches and to pay his own rent, federal regulators allege. Robert Cournoyer, 56, was sued in Denver on May 10 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is accusing him of securities fraud. The SEC’s allegations are civil, not criminal, and therefore are punishable by fines rather than prison time. Cou ..read more

Lead and part-time manager Angel Martinez refills marijuana flower Thursday, March 28, 2019, at MMJ American Dispensary in Denver. (Daniel Brenner, Special to The Denver Post) The Brighton City Council by resolution Tuesday night asked city staff to prepare an ordinance permitting the sale of medical and recreational marijuana in the city. Brighton has been among those communities that have resisted bringing marijuana sales into the city, even though the state approved both medical and retail marijuana and, as noted by council member Peter Padilla, city residents did support the statewide me ..read more

Colorado Harvest Co., at 1568 S. Broadway, is along the city’s so-called “Green Mile” of marijuana businesses. (Justin Wingerter) One of Denver’s first recreational cannabis dispensaries is suing its landlord, accusing him of unlawfully blocking the dispensary from buying the South Broadway property it has rented since legalization. Colorado Harvest Co. at 1568 S. Broadway, along the city’s so-called “Green Mile” of marijuana businesses, was one of Denver’s initial dozen recreational dispensaries in 2014. The building it occupies was owned then and is owned now by Paul Doherty, an insurance ..read more

Matt Shifrin, 36, stands inside one of his cultivation rooms. Before entering the weed business, he was the chief operating officer of Breckenridge Distillery. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen) In late 2022, real estate broker Jake Malman listed a former marijuana grow facility at 890 Navajo St. in Denver for $9 million. It would sell for $4.1 million a year later. “The market dictates pricing ultimately, and they beat it down,” said Malman, the owner of Malman Commercial Real Estate.  While Denver’s industrial real estate market has fared well over the past few years, weed cultivation warehous ..read more

Cousins Rick Bonde, left, and Steve Bonde founded Boulder Creek Technologies in Arvada. (Instagram) An eco-friendly CBD extraction company in Arvada is bankrupt and going out of business. Cousins Rick and Steve Bonde founded Boulder Creek Technologies in 2019. The former is a retired music executive who represented rock bands Blink-182 and Sublime, the latter a trained chemist, inventor and hemp consultant, according to media reports. “My cousin called me last year and said, ‘I’ve got a great idea on how we can help the hemp industry be more eco-conscious and efficient,’” Rick Bonde told the ..read more

Gabriel Lindsay and Neelein Shead hoped to open a marijuana dispensary in this building at 3680 Morrison Road in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood. (Google Street View) Two marijuana dispensary owners hoping to open another one in southwest Denver have sued the city for denying them a license for it, saying in part that neighborhood opposition was motivated “at least in part by racial discrimination.” Gabriel Lindsay and Neelein Shead, who are black, filed a lawsuit Friday in connection with their effort to open a store at 3680 Morrison Road, in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood. Westwood is a hea ..read more

This nondescript warehouse at 5395 E. 39th Ave. in northeast Denver is home to Super Farm. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen) A cannabis cultivator in northeast Denver was fined $61,500 by the city Tuesday for failing to report a fire at its warehouse and then “disturbing evidence” the fire had occurred. Excise and Licenses Director Molly Duplechian called the fine a “severe penalty” and said she expects it will ensure Super Farm “complies with the law” going forward. “The director’s final decision was disappointing,” Super Farm said in a statement, but added that it will nevertheless “respect t ..read more

The former fire station at 600 S. Broadway in Denver was built in 1890. (Tre Spencer/BusinessDen) A local dispensary has bought a piece of the city’s history. Wellness Center of the Rockies, also known as The Center, recently purchased a former firehouse at 600 S. Broadway for $3 million. The seller, Firehouse Thirteen LLC, purchased the property for $300,000 in 2000, property records show.  The 5,360-square-foot building was built in 1890 and was formerly the town of South Denver’s firehouse before becoming Denver’s 13th firehouse in 1900. It remained in service for 70 years before bei ..read more

Ashley Close prepares for the upcoming opening of Verts Neighborhood Dispensary in Golden on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) Seventeen months after voters in this city said yes to recreational cannabis sales — and nearly a decade after the first retail joint and edible were sold in Colorado — this tourist-friendly city on the western fringe of the metro area is finally joining the pot party. Verts Neighborhood Dispensary, formerly Golden Alternative Medicine and the city’s only medical marijuana shop, made its first recreational cannabis sale during a soft openin ..read more