Maryland dispensary fined $26,000 for selling cannabis retrieved from dumpster

BALTIMORE -- A Maryland dispensary has been fined $26,000 for selling cannabis that sat in a dumpster for two days, according to a consent order from the Maryland Cannabis Administration.

According to the consent order, 224 grams of cannabis were thrown into a dumpster outside Curio's Far & Dotter dispensary, where it sat for 41 hours and nine minutes. 

Surveillance footage showed three dispensary employees retrieving four boxes containing the pre-packaged product from the dumpster.  More footage showed another employee then repackage the cannabis, removing them from the original boxes, and placing them into plastic bags, before storing them inside a vault.

The employee informed an investigator from the MCA, that the cannabis had to be placed in the plastic bags because the original packages were covered in a liquid substance acquired from the dumpster, according to the order.  

In an email, an inventory manager said he advised that the product be destroyed as it violates several compliance requirements, but management "insisted on not losing profit."  Then, the location sold the product between July 28 and August 3, 2023, raking in a total of $3,174.50 in sales. 

The manager's employment at Far & Dotter was "terminated" on or about Aug. 20, 2023, according to the order.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Curio said the company prides itself on relationships with its customers and employees, The Baltimore Banner reported. 

"The aforementioned product was inside sealed jars, within sealed boxes, and it is undisputed that no outside material ever breached the jars or touched the product," the statement said.  

Curio also said they've conducted an internal investigation and that nonadherence to safety and compliance requirements "is not taken lightly nor tolerated."

In addition to the $26,000 fine, the company was ordered to submit its green waste logs for monthly reviews by the MCA, submit its scale calibration and cleaning logs for monthly review, and retrain staff on green waste procedures.