BRIGHTON, Colo. -- The North Metro Drug Task Force made three arrests in Brighton on Saturday after a chiropractic office became a make-shift marijuana dispensary.

Sgt. Jim Gerhardt, spokesman for the task force, said one of the chiropractic doctors at Integrated Medical & Wellness Center, located at 606 S 4th Ave., was behind the event that drew a large crowd of marijuana users to the office.

Gerhardt said the chiropractic doctor invited a medical doctor who was licensed to sign off on medicinal marijuana applications to the office. The doctor charged $100 to sign off on the application for the customer. Gerhardt added marijuana was dispensed at the site.

In the state of Colorado, a registered doctor must sign off on a medicinal marijuana application for a legitimate reason. The application is then approved by the state Department of Health, which will then issue a holder card.

According to police, Brighton officers smelled burning marijuana at the office as some customers were using it after purchase. Police officers arrested the chiropractic doctor, the doctor’s wife and the person dispensing the pot. The doctor issuing the marijuana cards fled from the scene. Gerhardt said it was unknown if the person signing off on the applications was really a doctor or not.

“It is one of the issues we are seeing,” Gerhardt said. “People are really abusing and taking advantage of the medicinal marijuana program. They were basically rubber-stamping people through.”

The facility was not a licensed dispensary. Gerhardt said the task force is securing a search warrant in order to search for additional drugs at the scene.

“They were trying to do this under the radar,” Gerhardt said. “But they had so many people show up and some people were using. That is what attracted attention.”