Pot Products 'Easily Mistaken For Candy Or Cookies' Found In 3 LI Villages: Cops

PATCHOOGUE, NY — Edible gummies containing high quantities of THC, in packaging that children can easily mistake for candy and cookies, was found in Organically Connected stores in Patchogue, Port Jefferson, and Huntington this week, Suffolk police said.

In a post on Facebook, Suffolk police's Public Information Bureau says officers helped the state's Office of Cannabis Management with inspections of the chain store. The office, which lead the investigation, issued "cease and desist" orders to the stores, according to the police department's post.

The products included Stoner Patch Dummies, a marijuana-laced version of the popular child's candy, Sour Patch gummies, according to a photograph included in the post.

Suffolk police declined comment, noting that the operation was an "assist" only.

A spokesman for the Office of Cannabis Management said the stores were not licensed by the state to sell the products. He declined specific comment pending the investigation.

In an emailed statement to Patch, spokesman Aaron Ghitelman said, the office "is committed to working closely with partners at all levels of government to ensure New York's cannabis industry continues to be safe, fair and equitable."

"Thanks to the New York Cannabis Law, 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 is working every day to advance investigations that shut down unlawful cannabis operations, including by seizing products, issuing cease-and-desist letters, and removing trucks used for illicit sales.”

On its Facebook page, Organically Connected bills itself as a CBD dispensary that offers both topical and ingesitble (sic) products, as well as self-serve kombucha.

Patch has contacted the company for comment. In an email to Patch, an employee said that one of the owners would be reaching out.

Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri said he was unsure if the business could reopen with proper approvals. From the standpoint of a village official, he hates to see any business suffer financially, "but they didn't follow the rules.

He said the company originally wanted to place a storefront on Main Street, but village officials rejected the idea.

The village chose to opt-out, he said.

"They wanted to be able to sell that," he said. "And my sense has always been is you allow it to be a storefront, DQ or D3 businesses, which is basically about downtown business districts, people would go in, purchase what they want to purchase, come out on onto the street, and you'd have enough smoke to be a three-alarm real fire."

In a news release Thursday, Port Jefferson Village officials said, "Illicit cannabis and unauthorized hemp products," were seized from Organically Connected's location on Main Street on Wednesday in an investigation by the state, with the help of Suffolk police, and the village's code enforcement.

Organically Connected's owners were "advised to discontinue sales of all nonconforming products or face additional action" by the state, according to village officials.

The village issued appearance tickets for multiple zoning code violations, the news release stated.

Two appearance tickets for violations of the zoning code were issued, including one for operating a retail cannabis dispensary, and the other for being an electronic cigarette retailer, both of which are unpermitted uses, according to a village spokesman.

The village also issued an appearance ticket for unpermitted signage, he said.

The sale of marijuana products in retail establishments is now legal, but the Village of Port Jefferson has opted out of the practice. There is currently only one licensed recreational marijuana retailer in the state.

Trustee Kathianne Snaden, the village board's code enforcement liaison, said that "with the advent of new laws regarding cannabis, the Board of Trustees deliberately chose to not allow retail sales within our borders for multiple reasons, not the least of which is to protect our children from the potential harms of use of marijuana."

"A store owner choosing to sell such illegal products right on Main Street shows a disregard for our laws and for our residents," she said. "We will continue to work with state and county authorities to keep Port Jefferson a safe and enjoyable village, free from illegal sales of marijuana products."

Mayor Margot Garant thanked the 6th precinct "for their invaluable assistance," as well as the state for "organizing and executing this joint operation."

Huntington officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Also, this week, two men face charges connected to illegally selling cannabis gummies and vape cartridges containing THC in Oceanside.

The sale of unauthorized marijuana products has been on Suffolk's radar as of late.

In October, four men were charged in connection with selling drugs that were disguised as candy in Bay Shore and West Islip stores. The next month in November, a 5-year-old Shirley boy was treated at a local hospital after he ate cannabis-infused gummies that he received while trick-or-treating.

The department "is warning parents to be on the lookout for cannabis infused candies being sold locally in child-friendly packaging," police said in the Facebook post announcing this week's violations.

Anyone who finds candy that has potentially been tampered with or contains drugs should call 911. Anonymous tips referencing stores selling such candy can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or online at P3tips.com.