Connecticut files lawsuits on illicit cannabis sales
HARTFORD — Attorney General William Tong on Tuesday said that after repeated visits by his staff to smoke shops and other locations to remind them of state laws on the regulation of cannabis products, he filed civil court actions against seven wholesalers and retailers throughout the state for alleged sales and distribution of the drug outside the state's legal realm of adult-use cannabis.
Tong also said that a socalled cannabis gifting party called the High Bazaar was issued a ceaseand-desist order last week that apparently shut down the operation.
During a morning news conference in the State Office Building, Tong and Bryan Cafferelli, commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection, displayed an array of packaged products. Some of the packages carried familiar brand names of snacks, but contained as much as 600 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, which in legal packaging is limited to no more than 100 milligrams in 20 doses of 5 mg each.
“This is about public health,” Tong said. “That's why the laws are here. Even if you are a parent who enjoys adult-use cannabis products, you don't want your kids ingesting it and you don't want them ingesting untested, unregulated products in such quantities that will send you to the hospital.”
Distributors in Bridgeport, New Britain and Suffield were targeted, in addition to retail operations in New London, Norwich, New Haven and East Haven. “Just because we have an adult-use cannabis market, doesn't mean you can do whatever you want,” Tong said. “It doesn't mean that you can sell whatever product you want at any time and any place.”
Tong, the top civil lawyer for the state, said a sharp uptick in cannabisrelated poisonings have affected about 400 people under the age of 18 since 2021. Grabbing a package, Tong stressed that some of the items arrayed on a table in front of his podium had common snack food names such as Doritos and Fritos. “You take a whole bag of this, you're going to the hospital,” he said.
The seven lawsuits announced on Tuesday are in addition to seven others filed last year, three of which were settled and four remain pending in court, said Michael Wertheimer, deputy associate attorney general.
“This is the product of a long investigation of each of these wholesalers and retailers, in which there were multiple visits,” Tong said, stressing that his office's consumer protection section gave the companies several chances to understand the law and take illegal items off their shelves. “Despite our efforts to work with them because they are Connecticut-based businesses, and to have a dialogue and conversation with them, despite our efforts they refused to comply and so we have no choice but to bring these lawsuits against them.”
Connecticut's adult-use cannabis retail program is about a year old, with sales limited to licensed dispensaries that sell state-grown and manufactured products that are overseen by the Department of Consumer Protection. The General Assembly fully legalized cannabis use in 2021.
“Yes you can use cannabis products, but they have to be legal cannabis products and you have to acquire them, if you buy in Connecticut, from a licensed dispensary,” Tong said. “There are very strict requirements around who can sell, who has the license to sell, the manner in which they are sold and how those products are supposed to look, and the potency of those products, how they're supposed to be tested.”
Visits to various retailers have turned up other illicit activities, including the sale of cannabis flower. “We found wads of cash, we found ledgers of illicit products, we found firearms, who found things hidden in secret compartments and ceiling tiles and so are not only are these retailers selling things they're not supposed to sell, but they know they're not supposed to sell them,” Tong said, adding that in one store, a roll of phony medical labels was found.
Cafferelli said that the items seized may have listings of ingredients, but they are virtually untested, unlike legal cannabis at state dispensaries. He noted that the state law also prohibits marketing and packaging to appeal to children, unlike the dozens of items on the table. “These people most likely know what the law is and they are skirting it,” he said. “Because they're trying to participate in a market that's regulated.”
The legal actions were taken against Shark Wholesale Corp. in Bridgeport; Star Enterprise 74 LLC, in New Britain; RZ Smoke Inc., in Suffield; Greenleaf Farms in New London; Smoker's Corner in Norwich; Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke in New Haven; and Planet Zaza in East Haven. Violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act carry fines of up to $5,000 per violation. Criminal penalties are the purview of local police departments and the Chief State's Attorney's office.
Two of the companies declined comment Tuesday and four could not be immediately reached for comment. “We don't have anything with cannabis. We just have CBD,” said a woman who identified herself as Nana Sing, an employees at the Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke Shop, said Tuesday. “I never saw anything like that here.”
Cafferelli said that his office is working with police and the state Department of Revenue Services on the possible pursuit of criminal violations. “These shops have been warned,” Cafferelli said. “All these shops that have been sued have been warned on multiple occasions and visited several times, and finally you have to put some kind of stick behind it. Now, the education will also come from parents talking to their children about these products they may come across.”
Tong said that both the High Bazaar and the Masonic Temple where the events have been held, were presented with cease-and-desist orders last week. “It is clear that whatever loophole they thought existed, no longer exists,” he said. “It has been closed, affirmatively, by the legislature. They're not gifting. They're selling cannabis at these events. It's a retail operation and it is totally outside the regulated market and unlawful. Let's hope they shut down for good.”