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An Albuquerque cannabis dispensary was hit with a $350,000 fine from the state’s Cannabis Control Division (CCD) Tuesday related to the store’s grand opening in Nov. 2023.
According to a settlement agreement between Blue Whale Enterprises and the CCD, the company is now required to pay the state for violations at the grand opening of Cookies dispensary, which Blue Whale Enterprises owns.
Part of that fine includes $50,000 for five violations:
- Allowing a minor without a medical cannabis card to consume on site
- Allowing at least one member of the public to smoke a “large amount of cannabis” in the store’s parking lot — which violates a state law prohibiting vendors to allow over consumption
- Allowing customers to smoke cannabis in the store’s parking lot and not in a state sanctioned consumption area
- Allowing alcohol consumption at the store’s grand opening
- Displaying cannabis in the store’s parking lot instead of inside the store.
The settlement agreement also requires Blue Whale enterprises to pay $300,000 over the next four months, in lieu of closing its doors for 14 days.
According to an earlier notice from the CCD, many of the violations were documented in photos published by the Albuquerque Journal.
The company’s agent who signed the agreement could not be reached for comment before publication.