PATCHOOGUE, NY – Edible gummy bears with high levels of THC in packaging that children could easily mistake for candy and cookies were found this week at Organically Connected stores in Patchogue, Port Jefferson and Huntington, Suffolk Police said.
In a post on Facebook, Suffolk Police’s Public Information Bureau says officers have been assisting the State Bureau of Cannabis Management with inspections of the chain of stores. The office leading the investigation issued the stores “cease and desist orders,” according to the Police Department Post.
Products included Stoner Patch Dummies, a marijuana-laced version of the popular children’s candy Sour Patch gummy bears, according to a photo included with the post.
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Suffolk Police declined to comment, noting the operation was only “assistance”.
A spokesman for the Office of Cannabis Management said the stores are not licensed by the state to sell the products. He declined specific comment pending the investigation.
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In an emailed statement to Patch, spokesman Aaron Ghitelman said the office “seeks to work closely with partners at all levels of government to ensure the New York City cannabis industry remains safe, fair and equitable.”
“Thanks to the New York Cannabis Act, legal dispensaries are opening their doors to consumers and offering them products they can trust,” he said. “The Office of Cannabis Management’s enforcement team works every day to advance investigations that shut down illicit cannabis businesses, including through the seizure of product, the issuance of cease and desist letters, and the removal of trucks used for illegal sales.”
Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri could not be immediately reached for comment.
On its Facebook page, Organically Connected bills itself as a CBD dispensary offering both topical and ingestible (sic) products, as well as self-serve kombucha.
Patch has reached out to the company for comment. In an email to Patch, an employee said one of the owners would be in touch.
“Illegal cannabis and unauthorized hemp products” were seized at the Organically Connected site on Main Street on Wednesday in a state investigation with the help of Suffolk Police and village code enforcement, village officials said in a news release on Thursday.
According to village officials, the owners of Organically Connected have been “recommended by the state to stop selling all non-compliant products or take additional action.”
The village issued tickets for multiple zone code violations, the release said.
According to a village spokesman, two tickets were issued for zone code violations, including one for operating a retail cannabis dispensary and the other for operating an electronic cigarette retailer. Both are illicit purposes.
The village also issued a ticket for unauthorized signage, he said.
Selling marijuana products in retail stores is now legal, but the village of Port Jefferson has decided against the practice. There is currently only one licensed recreational marijuana retailer in the state.
Trustee Kathianne Snaden, the village council’s code enforcement liaison, said that “with the advent of new legislation regarding cannabis, the Board of Trustees made a conscious decision not to allow retail sales within our borders for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to protect our children from the potential harm caused by it marijuana use.”
“A shopkeeper who chooses to sell such illegal products directly on Main Street shows a disregard for our laws and our residents,” she said. “We will continue to work with state and local authorities to make Port Jefferson a safe and comfortable community free from illegal sales of marijuana products.”
Mayor Margot Garant thanked the 6th district “for their invaluable support” and the state for “organizing and executing this joint operation”.
Huntington officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Also this week, two men will be charged in connection with the illegal sale of THC-containing cannabis gummies and e-cigarette cartridges in Oceanside.
The sale of unauthorized marijuana products has recently been on Suffolk’s radar.
In October, four men were charged in connection with selling drugs disguised as candy in stores in Bay Shore and West Islip. The following November, a 5-year-old Shirley boy was treated at a local hospital after eating cannabis-infused gummies he was given at a trick-or-treating shop.
The department “warns parents to look out for cannabis-infused candies sold locally in child-friendly packaging,” police said in the Facebook post announcing this week’s violations.
Anyone who finds candy that may have been tampered with or contain drugs should call 911. Anonymous tips on stores selling such candy can be directed to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or online at P3tips.com.
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