Cannabis business leasing Auburn billboard; owner hoping for deal with state

The owner of I’m Stuck began leasing the billboard above the downtown Auburn location of his cannabis business this week. Tulley told The Citizen he has leased the billboard for three years.

Thanking central New York for its support, the billboard is part of what Tulley hopes is the next phase of his business. Eight I’m Stuck locations, including the one in downtown Auburn and the Weed Warehouse in Aurelius, were shut down and padlocked by the state Office of Cannabis Management July 31 for selling cannabis without a dispensary license and selling cannabis to minors, the state said.

Tulley’s attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, has filed a motion to dismiss the state’s injunction closing I’m Stuck. A hearing will be held Sept. 6, Tulley said. In the meantime, Bondy is negotiating with the state in hopes of securing Tulley a cannabis processor license in exchange for his agreement to keep his locations closed. Tulley said the deal would be a “win-win” for him and the Office of Cannabis Management.

“They’re short on processors,” he said. “That’s why they have the same products in every store. Some farmers aren’t even getting into stores because there aren’t enough processors.” 

A representative of the state Office of Cannabis Management told The Citizen they could not comment on the validity of Tulley’s statement.

The I’m Stuck owner said he has a facility in Syracuse “ready to go” for processing cannabis into products like prerolled joints and edibles. Those products would carry the I’m Stuck and I’m Baked brand names and logos advertised by the downtown Auburn billboard. However, the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act prohibits holders of processor licenses from also holding dispensary licenses.

The next phase of Tulley’s business could see him doing both in Minnesota, which became the 23rd state to legalize recreational cannabis in May. He spoke to The Citizen by phone from the state, where he said he is meeting with landlords about opening I’m Stuck locations. Like in New York, they would technically give cannabis products to customers for free while charging them for consultations.

Tulley doesn’t believe his locations in Cayuga, Wayne, Monroe and Oswego counties will ever be allowed to reopen, he said, despite Bondy’s argument that such “gifting” is legal.

Along with the shutdown of I’m Stuck, Tulley could also face millions of dollars in fines, the state said in a news release. There is a $10,000 penalty for each day of selling cannabis without a license, or $20,000 if the seller has received a notice to stop selling by the Office of Cannabis Management. He had received several such notices, including a July raid of his Auburn and Aurelius locations.

“It won’t be in the millions because I don’t have that,” Tulley said of the fines he will face. “I gave it all back to the community.”