Two drivers deliberately drove through the front of a Northeast Portland pot shop early Monday in the latest example of a spate of smash and grab burglaries targeting the state’s cannabis industry.

Five people sprung out of both vehicles around 4 a.m. at the Lemonnade PDX Dispensary and stole whatever was available inside: cannabis flowers, cartridges, extracts. The masked individuals were in and out within six minutes, according to a store manager.

The theft early Monday was one of two burglaries at cannabis businesses within an hour of each other and part of a rise in thefts impacting growers and retailers, according to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.

The state agency issued a bulletin March 12 alerting license holders to an increase in burglaries and armed robberies at Oregon cannabis businesses. The suspects tend to arrive overnight when no one is around or at the end of the day, when some of the businesses might have a lot of cash on hand.

“The OLCC would like to remind all licensees, employees and staff to remain aware at all times of the day but especially cautious during the opening and closing hours of the business,” the agency wrote in a bulletin.

The state agency recommended cannabis businesses have multiple employees on duty at opening and closing hours, be aware of all panic button locations, make sure cameras and alarm systems are functioning properly and report any suspicious or threatening activity to law enforcement.

The spike appears to be affecting the Portland metro area and not just retailers, according to the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon. In early March, the trade association sent an email to its members that at least five cannabis businesses had been hit, including a retailer, a processor, two farms and a wholesaler.

In the email, the association wrote it believes a coordinated crew of at least seven individuals are behind multiple crash and grab hits in Portland. The suspects are using stolen cars to smash through entrances and grab as much cannabis as possible before fleeing, it said.

The trade association held a meeting March 10 to determine how to respond.

In the burglary at Lemonnade, Portland police officers pursued a vehicle believed to have been involved. Officers quickly ended the pursuit and later found the vehicle abandoned near East Burnside Street and Northeast 147th Avenue, police spokesperson Terri Wallo Strauss said.

The store manager said police had recovered much of the stolen product and are holding onto it as evidence. The suspects’ body language on the dispensary’s video cameras appeared to show that the suspects had staked the location out before, the manager said.

Just an hour earlier at 3 a.m., officers responded to a burglary at Brothers Cannabis Dispensary in the 1300 block of Southeast Morrison Street and found signs of missing product and broken glass cases, Wallo Strauss said. In both burglaries, police did not locate any suspects.

— Zaeem Shaikh covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-221- 4323, zshaikh@oregonian.com or on X @zaeemshake