Osseo Council Votes To Revoke Vape Store’s License for Illegal Marijuana Sale
A vape shop in Osseo may lose its license after trying to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer.
According to the Osseo Police Department, on Oct. 28, a clerk at The Gr8 Vape shop offered to sell marijuana flower to a plainclothes police officer.
“The officer was then able to talk to the clerk — the clerk then advised the officer that they had the good stuff in the back,” said Osseo Police Chief Shane Mikkelson. “So she asked, ‘what could we find in the back?’ And they came forward … with one of these jars of 3 1/2 grams [of marijuana].”
The city of Osseo has a moratorium on the sale of cannabis flower, as well as other recreational cannabis products legalized this summer.
Police found that the business, which is located at 229 1st Ave. N.E., was selling edibles that contained an illegal amount of THC.
“One-thousand milligrams is way over the [maximum] amount of THC,” Mikkelson said.
Police also found vape oil containing an illegal amount of THC on-site. According to Mikkelson, those vape cartridges were not posted for sale.
The Osseo Police Department issued administrative citations to the clerk and the business owner for violating city ordinances.
“That was kind of an egregious selling of stuff in the city that’s not legal to sell,” Mikkelson said.
Osseo police show evidence of marijuana sales in a slide show during a city council meeting.
Osseo Council Approves Revocation
The council voted unanimously to revoke the edible THC and tobacco license for the business.
“I’m disgusted,” said Osseo City Council member Juliana Hultstrom. “It’s like we give them an opportunity and, give an inch, take a mile. We need to set a strong precedence here … I look at this as illegal drug traffic.”
The business owner has the right to appeal the council’s decision to a hearing, according to Mary Tietjen, city attorney. That would likely be conducted by a third-party attorney. The city can charge the business for the third-party attorney’s services up to $1,000.
