Members of Break the Stigma Fitness in Wheat Ridge, Colorado had some bad news this week.
The gym, which is marijuana friendly and operated by Jennessa Lea, has had its business licenses suspended.
The landlord has ordered Jennessa, who is also known as the Fit Cannabis Girl, to leave her location by June 4th.
Lea remarked, “It’s truly heartbreaking that things have gotten to this point.”
Lea explained that when she arrived in Colorado from Minnesota nearly two years ago, she “took all the money I had, and instead of buying a car, I invested in building this space, because I know there are so many people who need hope and who need to learn how to partake in cannabis therapy exercise. I just want to help people achieve a better quality of life.”
“Basically, I work with dispensaries and brands to sponsor our classes,”she explained. “I charge $28 for a two-hour experience, and within that two hours, you get an hour of yoga or kickboxing or other exercise. And the other hour is education and the ability to consume — and these sponsors gift me with product that I then turn around and gift to my clients.”
According to the city’s “Order of Immediate Suspension and Notice of Grounds for Revocation of the Business License,” Lea violated city ordinances “by encouraging and permitting patrons to use and consume Marijuana on the licensed premises.”
Two regulatory subsections have been cited, with one maintaining that “”no person may operate a business within the city concerning the sale, use, consumption, manufacture of marijuana unless specifically authorized pursuant to the provisions of this article.” The other said, “No marijuana clubs may operate or obtain a business license to operate within the city.”
Lea disagreed and said, “They’re trying to make the gym into a club, which it isn’t And the consumption is in a private residence, which is allowed under Colorado law.
They also seem to think I’m making extra money or potentially taking money under the table for the joints I gift out. But I don’t take any money for these sponsored products, and the $28 charge isn’t for cannabis. There are people who don’t take any of these products, but the charge isn’t any less for them — and if you take three dabs instead of one, you don’t get charged more. The price isn’t dependent on how much you consume, because the cannabis is a gift.”
