Some shops not waiting for cannabis licenses | News

As a nurse with an advanced degree, she knew many patients that used it for therapy and with great results.

Morgan said her upbringing was hardly ideal and she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of it. Taking a cue from some of her patients, many of whom were on dialysis for kidney disorders, Morgan tried a cannabis product for her PTSD six years ago.

It’s been a life-changer, she said, helping her deal with painful adolescent memories. It’s helped her more than any other therapy she has tried for PTSD.

“This has brought so much relief,” she said, adding she doesn’t smoke it and does not take cannabis for the high.

She left a lucrative nursing career and opened a new flower shop on South Main Street in Canandaigua called Stalk & Stem, with business picking up by the day. She provides floral arrangements for a host of events from proms to funerals.

But there’s another product related to a particular flower that she’s selling: cannabis edibles.

Morgan isn’t doing this in a backroom of her flower shop, which she remodeled herself. It’s on display for everyone to see.

“This is a family-friendly, classy environment,” Morgan said. “This is not a head shop. This is a functional floral shop.”

However, if you want to buy, say, the cannabis-infused baked goods she has for sale, all you have to do is be 21 and pay a $10 fee to join her Greenhouse Club.

Morgan said the money she makes selling cannabis products — which she gets locally — is going to her greenhouse nest egg.

But this greenhouse won’t be for the decorative flowers she sells. Morgan said she’s applying for a nursery license from the state to grow and sell cannabis plants, along with the soil, seeds and nutrients.

Morgan is one of many selling cannabis products ahead of licensing by the Office of Cannabis Management. The agency did not respond to a request for comment by the Finger Lakes Times, but on its website the board states that “only cannabis businesses licensed by the OCM can legally sell cannabis in New York State. No adult-use cannabis retail licenses have been issued yet.”

The state Legislature legalized recreational marijuana in March 2021, and subsequently created the Office of Cannabis Management to devise regulations for licensing dispensaries.

More than a year after decriminalization of recreational marijuana, OCM has yet to adopt regulations for licensing dispensaries, but claims it is “anticipated” that it will by the end of the year.

In the meantime, people looking to buy products ranging from weed to edibles to tinctures (oil) won’t have a difficult time finding it locally. Just around the corner from Stalk and Stem in Canandaigua is Jaydega, which also offers products through a “club.”

A Geneva establishment that asked not to be a part of this story confirmed it is selling cannabis, and there are reports of at least two businesses in Lyons selling products as well. Two Seneca Falls stores owned by the Cayuga Nation have been selling them for several months.

Morgan said she does not plan to sell cannabis once state licensing kicks in but doesn’t believe her small-scale greenhouse club is in violation.

“I know the city is very aware of what I’m doing here,” Morgan said. “If someone tells me to stop, I’ll stop.”

Nate Kurash, who is producing a new quarterly magazine dedicated to all things cannabis called “FLX420,” is a member of Morgan’s Greenhouse Club.

He said the slow pace of setting up cultivators and dispensaries has no doubt led some businesses to jump ahead of the competition, and he doesn’t think authorities are that interested in cracking down on these sellers.

“Nothing is going to happen to them,” Kurash said. “You’re supposed to be licensed, but the licensing rules and regulations are not out.”

He guesses it could be 2023 before dispensary licenses are issued.

Kurash, of Rushville, said the money that can be made selling cannabis is apparently worth whatever risk CBD shops and others face. But he wonders how licensing, which can cost a significant amount of money, will go, given what is happening in what the OCM calls the “illicit” market.

“What’s the point of getting a license — and all the costs — if you can currently sell without?” he asked. “The illegal or underground market is going to trump the legal market. I think they (the state) should have made it clear that it is not legal to sell. On a macro level, it’s going to hurt the industry.”

On its website, the OCM noted in a press release in February that it had issued cease and desist orders to a number of establishments selling ahead of state licensing.

“Recent media reports have described business operators selling a product or service, including club memberships, to consumers and providing cannabis as a ‘gift’ in return,” the OCM said in the release. “This activity is illegal under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.”

The agency said it had “identified over two dozen alleged violators and sent letters to each educating them on the law and directing them to stop their illegal activity immediately.”

The region’s law enforcement has largely stayed out of the matter, based on the responses — or maybe just importantly, the lack of responses — to emailed requests for comment from the Times.

Wayne County Sheriff Rob Milby said his office has not handled any cases of cannabis sales at establishments in his county, but he’s not promising he won’t.

“Being that each case has its own merits, we would certainly entertain any cases that came our way, but they would certainly warrant a conversation between our office and the district attorney,” Milby said.

Wayne County DA Mike Calarco did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Ontario County District Attorney Jim Ritts doesn’t envision this as a priority for prosecutors and police.

“I believe there may be cease and desist orders from the state, but I do not anticipate a large local law enforcement focus on this,” he said.

Seneca County Sheriff Tim Luce said the only marijuana sales he is aware of in his county are at the Cayuga Nation-owned shops.

“We were advised they were exempt,” Luce said.

The most notable legal action in the region was in Penn Yan, where Police Chief Tom Dunham said his department assisted State Police in executing a search warrant on Fat Daddy’s Smoke and Gift Shop on Lake Street in the village, where police seized evidence, including cash and marijuana.

Yates County District Attorney Todd Casella said he “cannot confirm or deny any ongoing criminal investigations at this time” related to the Fat Daddy’s raid.

Dunham noted that “while the marijuana laws have changed significantly, there are still laws on the sale of marijuana and how much marijuana someone can legally possess.”

People can now possess 3 ounces of flower marijuana, 24 grams of concentrated marijuana and 5 pounds in their home, he said. And they can also grow plants in their home with a maximum of 12 plants per household (six mature and six immature).

In fact, Morgan is providing classes to assist customers who want to grow marijuana in their homes.

“Until I hear otherwise, I’m going to continue,” she said.