How to Get an Employee Badge at the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division

Recreational marijuana is now thriving in Colorado, the first state to sell marijuana to the general public. With so much interest from around the country about the legal cannabis shops and how to get in on the action, it’s not at all surprising that there is keen interest in how to get licensed to run or even just work in a Colorado marijuana store.

I went through the process of getting an “employee” badge almost exactly two years ago, right when I started writing for Weedist and working in the Colorado medical marijuana industry. Since all badges issued by the Colorado (no longer Medical) Marijuana Enforcement Division expire after two years, I needed to renew and get a “key” badge, which allows employees to act as managers.

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (or MED for short) has gone through several procedural changes in the last few years as it responded to increasing demand for occupational licences. When I first got my support badge two years ago, you could still call the office and make an appointment to be seen. While you had to call about two months in advance, you at least could still get a spot reserved. That system was abandoned in favor or a lottery/stamp system, which by all accounts was an absolute nightmare.

To deal with the increased demand, the MED basically had people waiting pull numbers from a hat, and anyone who didn’t get in that day got a stamp to come back next time. The number of stamps needed for automatic entry kept creeping up, until finally they opened some other offices across the state. Now, you can show up and most likely get seen at the Denver office that day, but if you can’t get in they can at least set you up with an appointment at one of the other offices.

For anyone interested in getting either a support or a key badge, here’s a few tips to keep in mind:

1. You must pay for your badge with cash and exact change. They don’t take credit cards or checks. The price for a support just went up to $150 and a key is now $300.
2. Show up with all your paperwork ready to go. The people in the MED office are better than the stereotypical DMV worker, but still are not very likely to help you out with forms. You can find the forms here, along with all other FAQs.
3. Show up early. The office in Denver doesn’t take applications after 2pm, but if you don’t want to wait for several hours, the earlier you get in after the 8pm open time, the quicker it should be. I intentionally went early in the morning to renew and upgrade my badge, and only had to wait about an hour to get in, meaning the entire process took about two hours.
4. Be realistic about your record, because any infraction can hold your application up. The application reminds you multiple times that you need to disclose everything, even if it’s been taken off your record. Most things that aren’t current felony charges won’t be a problem, but even things like outstanding parking tickets, unpaid court fines, and any other red flags might prove to be a problem.

In general, the process for anyone wanting to get a Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division badge has improved quite a bit in the last few years, but it’s still a good idea to do your research and be prepared.