New York State is investigating some of America’s biggest cannabis brands over a tactic that has become pervasive in the absence of strong oversight.
New York State regulators are investigating some of America’s biggest cannabis companies after receiving complaints that they have been selling marijuana to New York dispensaries that comes from unauthorized sources or is grown out of state, an illegal practice that has been called the industry’s open secret.
Since February, the Office of Cannabis Management, which oversees the cultivation and sale of marijuana in New York, has been investigating whether several companies, including Stiiizy, the nation’s best-selling brand, are laundering weed through a processor on Long Island, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Stiiizy denied the accusation on Monday.
The investigation entered a new phase earlier in the day when inspectors from the agency conducted surprise audits at the factories of the processor, Omnium Canna, which makes products for the brands included in the state inquiry.
The inspectors, some wearing jackets with “compliance” written in bright blue letters on the back, visited two of Omnium’s facilities in a brick office complex that also houses a dance studio and an entertainment equipment company. They carried clipboards as they went between two entrances separated by a parking lot.
State inspectors gathered at Omnium Canna’s headquarters on Monday as part of an investigation. Credit…Johnny Milano for The New York Times
It is a federal crime to transport marijuana across state lines, so legal weed has to be grown and sold in the same state through licensed businesses. But it is widely known in the cannabis industry that some companies cut costs by sourcing weed from states where it is cheaper or by buying from unlicensed growers.
New York State is investigating some of America’s biggest cannabis brands over a tactic that has become pervasive in the absence of strong oversight. Read More
