Lawsuit by New York Hemp Retailers Alleges Cannabis Regulators ‘Trampling’ Constitutional Rights

A lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on Monday on behalf of three licensed hemp shops accuses the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) of “trampling” on their constitutional rights by conducting “military-style raids” as part of their regulatory crackdown on illegal cannabis sales, the Albany Times Union reports. The raids followed new regulations adopted in December which tightened rules on – and effectively banned – intoxicating hemp products that the businesses had been legally selling without penalty for at least six years. 

The stores – Smoke N Save in Saratoga Springs, Two Strains in Queensbury, and Breckenridge in Manhattan – accuse OCM of treating the hemp shops like unlicensed cannabis sellers, searching personal belongings of workers during the raids, breaking open locked cabinets, turning off store surveillance cameras, and refusing to provide identification.

“Under the guise of an ‘administrative inspection,’ a single (cannabis office) inspector, accompanied by a double-digit contingent of heavily armed police wearing body armor, and without notice, probable cause, or a warrant, are bursting into legal licensed hemp retailer’s business establishments, immediately turning off all cameras to avoid a record of their unlawful actions, and carrying out their unlawful tactics without any regard that the retailer they are raiding is not selling marijuana but is a lawfully operating state-licensed hemp retailer.” — The lawsuit, via the Times Union 

The OCM regulations allowing the raids were first installed last year as emergency rules but were adopted by the Cannabis Control Board in December without public comment or involvement of the state Legislature, the report says. OCM has refused to provide any record or administrative proceedings resulting from the raids. 

The lawsuit also names the New York Sheriff’s Office as defendants. A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Manhattan.