A New York judge on Tuesday issued a $9.5 million judgment against the owner of a Rochester area store that was found to have been selling illicit marijuana since at least September 2022.
The judgment by New York State Supreme Court Justice Frederick Reed of Ontario County disgorged George West, owner of Jaydega 7.0 on Main Street in Canandaigua, in the Finger Lakes region, of $1,059,004 in illegal profits, which is to be paid to the state.
It also includes $1.78 million for a $20,000-per-day civil penalty for the 89 days that West operated the store after the Office of Cannabis Management ordered him to cease operations, affirmed by an OCM administrative hearing.
An additional penalty of more than $6.6 million amounted to five times the revenue in prohibited sales from West’s store after May 3, 2023.
West’s lawyer, James Riotto II of Rochester, didn’t return a phone message seeking comment on Wednesday.
The offices of New York Attorney General Letitia James and Cannabis Management collaborated in obtaining the judicial closing order that shuttered Jaydega 7.0 in November 2023. “The owner of Jaydega 7.0 refused to follow the law and ignored repeated warnings to stop selling cannabis without a license,” James said in a statement. “Today, George West must pay $9.5 million for violating our laws and hurting local communities. Stores that sell cannabis must abide by rules and regulations just like any other business in New York.”
Cannabis products sold by unlicensed businesses are not lab tested by OCM facilities, can be unsafe, and are not taxed. The Attorney General’s Office is authorized on request by OCM to bring a proceeding against any person who violates the cannabis law.
In May, James’ office secured a $15.2 million judgment by state Supreme Court Justice Richard Healy against David Tulley, the owner of seven unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in Cayuga, Wayne and Oswego counties.
Reacting to the judge’s decision, upstate cannabis attorney Ryan J. McCall said the state government, after a slow three-year rollout of the legal industry, has now begun to take a hard stance against illegal cannabis sales, as shown by its pursuit of the judgment against West.
“Frankly, I would expect it to continue, barring some federal legislation and/or Court of Appeals decision,” said McCall, a principal at McCall, Sweeney & Silva, in the Albany area.
McCall said he doesn’t see a viable way for the state to roll illegal operators into the legal industry, as some have suggested.
“New York State is really going to want to send a message to say, if you’re not playing by our rules when it comes to cannabis, this is what’s going to happen to you.”
He added that the government may view that giving illegal operators a pathway into the legal industry “as encouraging bad behavior to an extent—and I don’t think at this point in the cannabis industry, where it’s finally starting to get off the ground, they’re going to want to encourage that type of behavior.”
