The value of Sweet Leaf’s marijuana products targeted for possible destruction in Denver exceeds $7.5 million, according to a recent court filing by the company.
Denver regulators earlier this month revoked the MJ retailer’s 26 city licenses, alleging the company engaged in an illegal sales scheme that allowed customers to purchase marijuana multiple times a day.
Sweet Leaf, which maintains it didn’t break the letter of the law, on Monday won a stay from having to destroy its marijuana product while preparing to appeal the city’s decision in Denver District Court.
In a filing supporting the request for the stay, Sweet Leaf argued that it’s likely to win the case and would be “irreparably harmed” if forced to destroy its marijuana inventory in Denver.
The company said the Denver inventory earmarked for destruction includes product from its stores, cultivation facilities and a cannabis-infused manufacturing facility.
Potential damages are difficult to quantify, Sweet Leaf said, because “the product is in all different stages of the profitability life cycle.”
But the company claimed it would take “years” to cultivate enough marijuana to return to status quo.
Sweet Leaf officials didn’t comment about how and to what extent the company has maintained its cultivation processes since its facilities were shuttered by authorities last December.
“They have the right to caretake their plants,” said Eric Escudero, spokesman for the city’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.
