Owner of store that sold spice ordered to pay $1 million penalty

The owner of a Colorado Springs store that was shut down for selling spice has been ordered to pay a record breaking penalty.

An El Paso County district court judge ordered Jin Ju Kim to pay $1 million.

The Colorado Attorney General’s office says this is the highest penalty ever awarded in a spice case in our state. It says the judge found that the defendant knew what she was doing was illegal because spice products had been seized from her store before.

Kim’s store, PoPo Wee Mart, was located in the 1800 block of S. Academy Blvd.

“Spice is a very dangerous product that needs to be taken off the street,” said Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman. “I hope this significant penalty will send the desired message to other retailers who think about selling Spice that the penalties for doing so will be extreme.”

Spice is a synthetic form of marijuana that is known to cause serious health effects.