Denver May Shut Down Marijuana Grower Because Neighbors Complained About the Smell

A Denver marijuana grower may lose its license after neighbors complained about the smell.

Starbuds, which operates a second floor grow operation above a recreational marijuana shop in northeast Denver, is looking to renew its cultivation license but concerned neighbors complain that the marijuana cultivation facility has negatively impacted the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood — largely because of excessive odors, according to the Denver Post.

The final decision is expected to be issued soon. If officials deny the renewal, the Post reports, it would be the first such time that a grow’s license renewal would be blocked in a mixed-use zoning district, which have tougher restrictions on growers than industrial-zoned areas.

Colorado legalized recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21 in 2012, joining Washington as the first states in the nation to do so. Some 600 marijuana-related businesses now operate in the Denver area — making pot big business in Colorado.

Starbuds contends that there has to be another solution, including proposing tougher odor control measures at the shop. “There is no evidence to suggest that Starbuds’ cultivation cannot continue to thrive along with the neighborhood,” Starbuds attorney Jim C. McTurnan wrote, “and in harmony with the aspirations of the neighborhood plan.”