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The sign taped to the front door of CC’s CannaCreations shop in Solvay reads in big bright red letters: “Illicit Cannabis Seized.” In slightly smaller type, it says: “Warning: This business is ordered to stop illegal activity.”
The shop owner, Chere “CC” Charon, is prepared to fight back.
“They’re targeting me,” she said. “They’re trying to intimidate me. It’s not right.”
Charon’s shop at 1413 Milton Ave. was raided Aug. 15 by enforcement officers from the state Office of Cannabis Management, accompanied by agents from the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
The citation says officers found “THC flower, concentrates and edibles” and evidence that Charon was selling those items without a valid state license. The agent who signed the citation checked a box that indicates that evidence could include itemized price lists and cash receipts.
Charon, whose shop has been open since December, denies illegally selling marijuana. She said she offers artwork, T-shirts, other cannabis-themed merchandise, shoes, and some legal CBD (hemp cannabis) products. She also provides cannabis education, information, cooking classes and entertainment events.
She said any THC cannabis, or marijuana, found and seized in the shop was her personal supply, or used as displays for her education efforts. She did acknowledge selling Ayrloom, a hemp-derived THC drink made by an affiliate of Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards that has only recently been reclassified as illegal at non-licensed shops.
“But I hadn’t heard from the state about that before they came,” she said.
She said the state agents, some wearing police-style vests and carrying guns, forced her to open the apartment she subleases in the building, where they seized her personal marijuana not connected to the shop.
“I’m not doing anything illegal,” she said. “What they (the state agencies) are doing is illegal search and seizure.”
Despite the seizure of items, CC’s CannaCreations remains open. Charon’s case is scheduled for a hearing with the state on Sept. 13.
She has hired lawyer Paula Collins of New York City to handle her case, and she‘s set up a GoFundme and even sells T-shirts marked with the phrase “Justice for CannaCreations” to raise money for the legal bills.
Under New York’s 2021 marijuana legalization law, only licensed shops, known as dispensaries, can sell items containing THC derived from marijuana. CBD and other products derived from hemp cannabis have been legal longer and are covered under separate licenses.
Violation of the illicit marijuana sales law is roughly equivalent to a charge against a store that sells beer, wine or spirits without a state liquor license. The cannabis charge is considered a Class A misdemeanor, and can result in fines.
The New York Office of Cannabis Management has issued a citation charging C.C.’s CannaCreations, at 1413 Milton Ave. in Solvay, with selling illicit cannabis. (Don Cazentre)
The state’s roll-out of legal, licensed dispensaries has been beset by delays and disruptions, most recently a lawsuit which prompted a judge to issue an injunction halting most new openings. More than two years after marijuana became legal in New York, there are just 23 licensed dispensaries statewide.
The delays in widespread legal availability have spurred a large number of illicit shops to spring up. State and local authorities have also been slow to develop tactics to fight the illegal shops.
In May, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul approved new legislation tightening enforcement of illicit sales. It allows for inspections, seizures, fines that can reach $20,000 a day plus possible tax penalties.
The state Office of Cannabis Management did not respond Monday to a request for how many such inspections and seizures have occurred since the new enforcement laws took effect.
Charon said she has more than 10 years experience with cannabis, including five years working as a consultant at Syracuse Hemporium. That is a licensed CBD-hemp retailer operated by her father, Jim Charon, in Northern Lights Plaza.
CC Charon said the CBD she sells is “on consignment” from Syracuse Hemporium.
She opened CC’s CannaCreations in December in the storefront that once housed the Midtown Shoes store. (That’s why she still carries shoes in the shop).
Charon said she’s found cannabis to be useful personally in her efforts to recover from an accident in which she was hit by a drunk driver in 2016. She has also taken several cannabis-business related education courses and programs and is an active member of the Cannabis Association of New York.
“I know the use of cannabis and I know the business,” she said. “That’s why this all seems so crazy.”
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.