Four Rogue Valley marijuana retailers caught selling to minors

MEDFORD, Ore. – Four Rogue Valley marijuana retailers failed to stop the sale of cannabis products to minors during recent Oregon Liquor Control Commission compliance checks.

The OLCC conducted the minor decoy operations on December 29, 2017, in Medford, Ashland, Gold Hill, Phoenix and Rogue River. Of the twelve premises visited, four sold marijuana to an OLCC decoy purchaser who was under the age of 21.

The numbers put our local compliance rate at 67%, according to the OLCC. Statewide, the compliance rate is 76%. Those are numbers officials call “unacceptable.” OLCC Executive Director Steve Marks said in a press release, “Oregonians who voted for legalizing recreational marijuana implicitly told the cannabis industry to abide by public safety laws. Clearly, they’re not.”

The following local retailers were non-compliant:

Hijinx Cannabis Co., located at 3943 South Pacific Highway in Medford.
Cannabiz Experience, located at 333 North Riverside Avenue in Medford.
Rogue River Herbal, located at 510 East Main Street #C in Rogue River.
Rogue River Cannabis, located at 204 Madrone Street in Rogue River.

The OLCC listed the following local retailers as compliant:

House of Leaves, located at 488 North Main Street in Ashland.
Talent Health Club, located at 1007 South Pacific Highway #C in Phoenix.
Top Shelf Wellness, located at 205 North Phoenix Road #C in Phoenix
La Mota 36, located at 17 South Riverside in Medford.
Wicked Flower Shop, located at 600 East Jackson in Medford
Attis Trading Co., located at 259 East Barnett Road in Medford
Sensible Cannabis, located at 3338 North Pacific Highway in Medford.
Breeze Botanicals, located at 315 2^nd Avenue in Gold Hill.

The OLCC tests marijuana retailers throughout the year using a minor volunteer, supervised by OLCC inspectors. The volunteers use their own legal ID identifying them as under the age of 21. They are instructed to not lie about their age.

The first time a retailer is caught selling marijuana to someone under the age of 21, they could receive a 10 to 30 day license suspension or a fine of $1,650, depending on whether the sale was intentional. Failure to properly check a customer’s ID before the attempted purchase can be punished by a seven-day suspension or a fine over $1,000.

“This is part of our stepped-up compliance and enforcement activity,” Marks said. “We’re working to make sure that all segments of our regulated market are living up to the requirements of their license, and the expectations Oregonians have that they will act responsibly and follow the law.”