26 Out Of 44 Unregulated LI Businesses In Crackdown Caught With Cannabis: Pols

LONG ISLAND, NY — More than half of businesses — 26 out of 44 — targeted in a recent crackdown across Suffolk County were found illegally selling items either labeled or packaged as a cannabis product, County Executive Ed Romaine announced Tuesday at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank.

Five businesses were closed by the towns due to multiple violations, and eight people were arrested on various charges including seven people for unlicensed sale of cannabis, according to his office.

The department also seized more than 15,000 flavored vape products and more than 15,000 THC products, his office said.

Romaine said cannabis shops "create an unsafe environment for our residents, and especially our children."

“Thank you to all our law enforcement personnel and partners in government that have come together to send the message that is ‘you break the law, you will be shut down,'" he added.

Sheriff Errol Toulon said his office provided several staff to ensure that the operation was successful, and the joint effort led to thousands of seizures.

"This is just isn't about legality; it's more about safety," he said. "Products sold outside of regulated channels can be dangerous and untested."

The crackdown ran between May 20 and May 21.

Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the crackdown targeted illegal marijuana sales during which businesses "are taking advantage of selling with impunity."

“The cannabis is always unregulated and often sold to juveniles, creating a dangerous situation. We will continue to work with our partners and target problem locations and ones that are a source of community complaints," he added.

Catalina also announced the arrest of a Mastic man in connection with selling marijuana gummies that sickened a group of high school students in Moriches back in March.

Some of the businesses targeted included Simply Green in Coram, Vape Guru in Bay Shore, Cloud 9V in Farmingville, and Norm's in Patchogue, according to Catalina.

Jake Wightman, the owner of Simply Green, told Patch he believes he was treated unfairly being lumped into the same category with the other businesses, and that he only opened in the last three weeks carrying CBD only products.

"The police bought product that we have on camera showing that it was legally purchased product that was then legally resold to the police officer," he said in an email. "They used that product as evidence to say we are selling all THC and consequently raided our entire store and took all of our product including anything that was sealed CBD product."

Simply Green was then "mentioned by name" at the news conference "as one of the bigger raids and targets," he said, adding that the majority of the store is clothes and other accessories "because of the restrictions the town has put on us, simply put there is no possible way we were one of the larger raids and therefore no reason for us to be mentioned by name."

"We feel as though we have been an unjust target in both the press conference and as a result of the information you were given in your article," he said, adding that it paints the store in a bad light.

"We have worked diligently to make sure that we have nothing in our store that is not tested, regulated, and legal for us to sell," he said. "This press and unjust abuse of power by the police department has crippled our business and made it impossible for us to sell the federally and state legal product that we are allowed to sell under our CBD license."

Wightman went on to say that the store is "adamantly against illegal cannabis shops" in the community.

"They are bad for the community they sell to underage children, and they sell unregulated product," he said. "Our number one mission at Simply Green is to be as far from that as we can be. We only sell legal licensed, and tested product to adults 21-plus. The way we are named here in this article and by the police, paints us to look the opposite and that is simply not true. "

A spokesperson for the Office of Cannabis Management told Patch that Simply Green has been issued a provisional CAURD license by the Cannabis Control Board, and provisional licensees must obtain their final CAURD license after meeting all outstanding application requirements.

The provisional license does not permit the licensee to sell adult-use cannabis products until the final, or non-provisional, license is issued, according to the office.

Brookhaven Town officials said that the business was only permitted for retail sale of goods only under its current zoning.

Councilwoman Jane Bonner said the location is zoned for business, and not industrial use, which allows for the sale of cannabis.

Town officials say the business originally told them that you would be selling "Hippy" and "Woodstock"-style items and that the business was told "multiple times" they were in violation if they continued to sell marijuana products, before being issued "multiple violations."

Suffolk police say that a search warrant was executed at the business on May 20 due to previous undercover buys, and 14 boxes of cannabis products were seized.

This story has been updated from a previous version.