An unlicensed cannabis retailer in New York is now on the hook for more than $9.5 million after state officials say he ignored their orders in June 2023 to cease operations.
The New York Supreme Court for Ontario County, under presiding Justice Frederick G. Reed, ordered George F. West on Oct. 22 to disgorge more than $1 million in profits from his Jaydego 7.0 dispensary in Canandaigua and pay more than $8.4 million in penalties related to the number of days the court determined he continued to sell cannabis after the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had ordered him to stop.
According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, the OCM eventually obtained a judicial closing order that shut down Jaydega 7.0 in November 2023.
This week, the court ordered West to pay $20,000 per day “for each day that [he] continued to operate” after the June 2023 order, or $1.78 million for 89 days. In addition, the court ordered West to pay an additional penalty of five times Jaydego 7.0’s revenue from unlicensed cannabis sales, equating to more than $6.6 million.
The total amount of disgorgement and penalties ordered by the court was $9,530,789.
“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 release from the attorney general’s office. “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.”
Following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signing of New York’s adult-use cannabis legislation in March 2021, Jaydega 7.0 began operations on Main Street in Canandaigua without a license since at least September 2022, according to the attorney general.
This came months before the state’s first licensed cannabis dispensary launched adult-use cannabis sales in late December 2022. But the state’s fumble of a social equity-focused rollout—that went underfunded and challenged in court—allowed unlicensed operators to thrive in the interim, as fewer than 30 licensed dispensaries were left to serve the entire state throughout the majority of 2023.
This led to ramped-up enforcement efforts, including state budget allocations from Gov. Kathy Hochul, to crack down on unlicensed cannabis stores.
In addition to the $9.5 million from Jaydega 7.0, the attorney general’s office also secured a $15.2 million judgment in May 2024 against David Tulley, the owner of seven unlicensed cannabis stores in upstate and central New York. The New York Supreme Court for Wayne County determined Tulley’s retail chains, “I’m Stuck” and “The Weed Warehouse,” also ignored notices and orders from the OCM.
James accused Tulley’s dispensaries of also selling unregulated cannabis products to underage customers in that case.
“These illegal and unlicensed stores are budding up throughout the state and are hurting our communities,” James said in a May release from the attorney general’s office. “David Tulley is paying the $15 million price for his repeated illegal activity. This punishment should serve as a clear warning for all unlicensed cannabis stores in the state: We will enforce the law and shut down your operations.”