ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A Rochester cannabis business-owner plans to sue after his shop was raided Tuesday by the Office of Cannabis Management. However, the OCM says he didn’t have a proper license to sell THC products.
John Brown is the owner of Triclomes LLC on Dewey Avenue in Rochester. He believes the OCM had no authority to come in and go through their supply.
Triclomes LLC was raided by the Office of Cannabis Management Tuesday, as they claimed they were looking for illicit cannabis. John Brown, the owner of the establishment, says the OCM called it a civil recourse but had no court order allowing them to raid the shop.
“They’re taking handfuls of stuff and throwing them in the bags. They’re not even counting anything,” Brown said. “They took jars with our labels on it and if they were collecting for evidentiary purposes, you would want the jar that the product was in. They took the lids off the jar, emptied them in other containers, put the lids back on, left the empty containers.”
But Brown was under the impression he was doing everything by the books. That’s why he’s organizing with New York City Attorney Joseph Bondy to bring a class action lawsuit against the OCM.
“A temporary conditional license was given out in April 2021. That license attached to this address, that like are we illegal? Are we legal? It’s temporary conditional, you never gave me a time frame, you never gave me conditions. So, if we’re following every law and rule that you’re putting on the books, as you’re writing them, we’re conforming to what you’re doing.”
The OCM declined an interview but released this statement:
“Yesterday’s inspections were conducted within the framework of New York’s Cannabis Law. During the inspection process, Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) investigators seized products that were being sold without the appropriate license. Following a complete investigation, the OCM and the Department of Taxation and Finance will pursue appropriate penalties pursuant to their respective administrative authority.”
According to the Office of Cannabis Management, the New York State Cannabis Law allows the OCM to “conduct regulatory inspections, during normal business hours, of any place of business, including a vehicle used for a business, where medical adult-use cannabis, cannabis, cannabis product, cannabinoid hemp, hemp extract, or any products marketed or labeled as such, are cultivated, processed, stored, distributed, or sold by any person holding a registration, license, or permit under the Cannabis Law, or by any person who is engaging in activity for which a license would be required under the Cannabis Law. OCM has the authority to impose a civil penalty against any person found to have violated any provision of the Cannabis law, whether or not a registration, license, or permit has been issued to the person.”
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