LAKEWOOD - Feb. 19, 2026 – The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) conducted 469 underage compliance checks in 2025 as part of its focus on preventing youth access to marijuana, according to a MED report published recently. The compliance rate on those checks was 99%.
The Regulatory and Enforcement Activity report showed that the MED also conducted investigations into an additional 309 licenses last year related to preventing youth access inspections.
In 2025, the 26-person MED field investigations team investigated 2,829 licenses, or about 235 licenses per month. In addition, 846 licenses were subject to an administrative action by the State Licensing Authority, and about $1.08 million in fines were assessed.
The MED continued its focus on product and consumer safety, issuing 17 Health & Safety Advisories in 2025 that alerted consumers to potential contamination risks in regulated marijuana products. Health & Safety Advisories are issued for regulated marijuana that was sold to the public and subsequently found to have contaminants that exceeded acceptable limits established in Colorado law. Those contaminants included mold, aspergillus, pesticides, and elemental impurities such as arsenic. The MED consistently investigates product safety issues, with more than 160 product safety investigations in 2025.
The MED and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) co-hosted nine public Science & Policy meetings in 2025 to hear licensees’ concerns about potency testing, contaminants, and other potential public health issues. The MED also engaged with numerous public forums, such as the Colorado Task Force on Drunk and Impaired Driving, Marijuana Education Oversight Committee, and Cannabis Sustainability Work Group. In addition, the MED issued 18 industry bulletins, three compliance tips, and one position statement, all aimed at assisting licensees in establishing and maintaining compliant operations.
Despite declining license numbers, rising inflation, and lower marijuana sales in 2025 compared to prior years, the MED continued its initiatives focused on public safety and efficiency measures - such as additional reductions in staff through attrition, reducing office space, and sharing staff with the Natural Medicine Division - to maintain 2024 licensing fees.
“The past year has been challenging for both the marijuana industry and the MED,” said
Dominique Mendiola, senior director of the MED. “I’m proud of our efforts to streamline licensing processes and work as efficiently as possible, while maintaining our focus on preventing youth access and addressing product safety concerns.”
The 2025 MED Regulatory & Enforcement Activity report can be found on the MED website's home page under Helpful Links.
About the Marijuana Enforcement Division
The Marijuana Enforcement Division is tasked with licensing and regulating the Medical and Retail (adult-use) Marijuana industries in Colorado. Our mission is to promote public safety and reduce public harm by regulating the Colorado commercial marijuana industry through consistent administration of laws and strategic integration of process management, functional expertise, and innovative problem-solving.