Attorney general nabs NL and Norwich CBD businesses in illegal cannabis net
Elizabeth Regan, The Day, New London, Conn.
5 min read
Jan. 9—A crackdown by state Attorney General William Tong has targeted numerous businesses, including Greenleaf Farms in New London and Smoker's Corner in Norwich, for selling cannabis products without a license.
The Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday announced it is suing seven wholesale and retail businesses across the state, bringing its pending cases against illegal cannabis operations to 10.
The state attorney's office said its investigations across the state since cannabis was legalized routinely find unlicensed business selling edibles made to look like popular youth-oriented snack foods, including Fritos, Skittles, and Airheads.
The lawsuit against Greenleaf Farms at 607 Bank St. detailed multiple visits by investigators from Tong's office and the Department of Consumer Protection last year. Tong's office identified Stacy Raybon, of New London, as the owner.
Inspectors from the state consumer protection agency on a visit last February found edibles with packaging mimicking Fruit Loops cereal that contained 1,000 milligrams of total THC, compared to the 100 milligrams licensed retailers are authorized to sell per package. On a November visit, an unannounced investigator from Tong's office asking for marijuana was able to purchase six unlabeled blunts that had been pre-rolled with cannabis flower.
Tong's office said the CBD retailer does not have a license to sell cannabis.
"Cannabis is legal for adults in Connecticut, but it's not a free-for-all—retailers must be licensed and legal cannabis products must comply with strict safety standards," Tong said.
Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the compound in marijuana that creates the commonly understood high. The Associated Press said delta-8 is synthesized from CBD, a popular non-intoxicating chemical that's prevalent in hemp, a form of cannabis Congress legalized in 2018.
But Connecticut, which made recreational cannabis legal for adults in 2021, outlawed the sale of delta-8 edibles without a license.
Tong in the lawsuit said the federal Farm Bill opened a loophole that allows companies to sell hemp-infused products with intoxicating effects, which some companies have exploited by using chemical processes to boost the THC levels of hemp to produce "highly intoxicating" Delta-8 products.
The lawsuit includes a photograph inspectors took at Greenleaf Farms in February advertising the business as a "compliant" CBD, Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC dispensary.
Reached Tuesday, the Greenleaf Farm owner identified herself as Stacy Scott. She explained Raybon was her maiden name. She said she and her husband, with whom she runs the business, didn't know about the lawsuit until she heard about it through the media earlier that day.
She said investigators with the state consumer protection agency who came to the shop in February informed them the Delta-8 edibles were not legal to sell without a license.
"We thought they were compliant," she said of the edibles. "But it turns out they weren't."
She said they removed the products in front of the investigators and have not sold them since. She added state officials never followed up.
Elizabeth Benton, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, on Tuesday afternoon said the agency handed off the lawsuit to a marshal that day and that it should be served soon on Greenleaf.
The lawsuit alleged the owners "knew, or should have known, that their conduct was unfair or deceptive."
Scott said she felt the state is penalizing her business because of the Higher Collective recreational cannabis store that opened at 595 Bank St. in November.
"It's literally next door," she said.
The state consumer protection department in December announced combined sales for cannabis statewide totaled nearly $26 million for the month of November, including $15.3 million for the recreational market and $10.3 million for the medical market.
Recreational cannabis is subject to taxes totaling about 20% of the retail price, according to the state adult use cannabis program.
Higher Collective is the third location opened in Connecticut by the Higher Collective group through a partnership with Curaleaf's Joint Venture, a national company, which operates a medical marijuana dispensary and adult-use cannabis sales outlet in Groton.
Licensed retailers are prohibited from selling edible cannabis products with more than 5 milligrams of THC for a single serving or 100 milligrams for a package.
Tong said Delta-8 edibles sold by unlicensed wholesalers and retailers have not been subject to the state's testing standards and do not contain appropriate warnings.
"Some are sold in dangerous and misleading packaging designed to appeal to children. These products are designed to deceive consumers into believing they are safe, tested, and regulated — that is false," he said.
Three wholesalers were targeted in Tuesday's enforcement action for selling products with THC levels as much as 35 times higher than state maximums.
Tong's office cited data from the Connecticut Poison Control Center since 2021 showing the agency received 400 calls regarding cannabis exposure in children, including 181 children under six years old who were exposed to cannabis edibles. The majority of those cases required treatment at a health care facility, according to the attorney general.
The attorney general's office said investigators in multiple visits to Smoker's Corner at 680 Boswell Ave. in Norwich found "illegal high-THC edibles" for sale.
"Further, after the investigator asked if there was any 'pot' available for purchase, a Smoker's Corner employee retrieved a mason jar full of marijuana flower from a back room. The employee then weighed the marijuana on a scale, bagged it, and sold it to the Office of the Attorney General's investigator," the agency said.
Representatives for Smoker's Corner could not be reached to comment.
The lawsuits were lodged under the Unfair Trade Practices Act, with each violation carrying a fine of up to $5,000.
The office said it has secured judgments against four additional Connecticut retailers totaling $40,000 for selling illegal delta-8 THC products. A portion of the payments will be suspended if the retailers comply with terms of the judgment, including ceasing all sales of illegal cannabis.
