Colorado Springs outpaces Denver in illegal pot concentrates

While Denver police seized more than a thousand grams of illegally processed marijuana concentrates last year, Colorado Springs police found more than three times that amount, despite seizing half as many marijuana plants.

We requested statistics from the Colorado Springs Police Department outlining 2017’s marijuana busts by the numbers and compared them to figures released by the Denver Police Department. CSPD’s stats include busts from the surrounding area in El Paso County, which has a population close to Denver’s.

Springs police executed 95 search warrants and made 56 felony arrests for illegal marijuana operations in 2017. They seized 1,557 pounds of marijuana and 4,197 plants. They also seized 7.6 pounds of marijuana concentrates, which works out to more than 3,400 grams.

Denver police seized 1,090 grams of hash in 2017. DPD did confiscate more unrefined material than Springs police, taking 2,116 pounds of marijuana and 9,042 plants. Denver police executed 111 search warrants, just a few more than CSPD, but netted 157 felony arrests.

Denver police noted that they found 139 firearms in their investigations, far more than the 21 firearms found by CSPD during their investigations into illegal marijuana operations last year.

Colorado Springs police also noted that there was an increase in structure fires throughout the county directly

It’s not clear if there’s a link between the search/arrest rate and Denver’s legalized recreational marijuana market; Colorado Springs only allows medical marijuana sales.