Pot Shop Owner To Sue OCM For Raiding His Store Without Warrant, Agency Says It Was Acting Under NY Law

John Brown, the owner of a marijuana shop in Rochester, New York, plans to go after the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) following a recent raid of his place.

What happened: OCM officers raided his cannabis shop, Triclomes, and seized around $2 million in cannabis products without any explanation, search warrant or probable cause.

“They’re taking handfuls of stuff and throwing them in the bags. They’re not even counting anything,” Brown said as reported by Rochester First. “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.”

Brown added that the OCM called the action a civil resource even though it had no court order.

Why it matters: Is Brown’s store legal? According to him, he was doing everything by the books.

“A temporary conditional license was given out in April 2021,” he explains. “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.”

What’s next: Brown plans to bring a class action lawsuit against the OCM. To that end, he’s called on New York City Attorney, Joseph Bondy.

Is There A Case? What Does The OCM Have To Say?

The OCM released the following 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.”

The OCM argues that under New York State Cannabis Law, the agency is allowed 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.”

Is OCM Getting Desperate In Its Effort To Close Down Illicit Cannabis Shops?

Triclomes was not the only cannabis dispensary raided on Tuesday.

New York cops barged into another one in Manhattan as part of the ongoing battle to shut down the hundreds of illicit weed shops popping up all over the city. While the officers were targeting two locations of the Empire Cannabis Club chain, they only managed to successfully raid one. The second attempt failed when store manager Lenore Elfand taped the police, which is legal, as they attempted to barge in without a search warrant, which is not legal.

Maybe the OCM should consider another way to deal with the booming illegal market. Perhaps try speeding up the license-issuing process? Just a thought.

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by pixel2013, lindsayfox by Pixabay