DERBY – The members of the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen unanimously passed an ordinance Dec. 11 targeting businesses selling cannabis illegally.

Marijuana and cannabis products are legal in Connecticut. However, there is a licensing procedure designed, in part, to make sure customers taking the drug are safe.

The number of vape and smoke shops in Derby and Ansonia have increased since Connecticut made cannabis legal in 2021, as has the number of employees accused of selling unlicensed products.

The new Derby ordinance (a local law) piggybacks off changes to cannabis regulations state lawmakers approved earlier this year. 

The state law allows municipalities greater enforcement capabilities when it comes to unregulated businesses selling cannabis.

The state law also sets up the possibility for fines to be levied upon landlords who allow unauthorized cannabis shops to continue after multiple infractions. 

“The normal cannabis shops are super regulated,” Derby Police Department Chief Deputy Brian Grogan said. “The issue is we have licensed tobacco shops selling cannabis, and it is very hard to track down an owner.”

Investigation

The new Derby ordinance gives police the ability to investigate complaints or evidence regarding illegal sales, described as follows:

“In conducting an investigation, officers may inspect the premises, request documentation, and gather evidence consistent with constitutional limitations,” according to the new local law.

The Hearing

If officials believe the business is violating cannabis laws, the city will issue a written notice of violation to the business. 

That written notice is supposed to include:

  • The description of the violation or violations, including the where and when
  • The proposed penalty
  • An opportunity for a hearing to be requested and conducted in front of a hearing officer to contest the violation or penalty
  • A deadline by which the hearing request must be made

If a business entity doesn’t request the hearing, the violation and penalty  are imposed.

The hearing gives the chance for the business to present evidence, be represented by a lawyer, and to cross-examine witnesses.

The hearing officer, at the end of the hearing, is supposed to issue a written decision determining the violation and penalty.

Penalties

A business found in violation of the Derby ordinance could be subject to a fine of $250 per offense. Those fines could add up, because the ordinance treats each illegal sale as a separate transaction.

The ordinance also gives Derby the option to refer businesses in violation to the state Department of Consumer Protection or the Office of the Attorney General, entities that could effectively shut the business down.

Derby could also seek “injunctive relief,” that is, ask a court to intervene in order to stop the illegal sales.

Reaction

“Everybody in every town across the state is seeing the same issues with these unregulated smoke shops,” Grogan said. “What this does is give a little more teeth.”

Linda Fusco, Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s chief of staff, said the law is needed as an extra tool against shops not following the rules. She said a business potentially selling unregulated products to minors is also a major concern.

“There’s no way to control what they do and there’s always the concern that an unregulated shop could be selling to minors. We hope this ordinance will tighten things up,” she said in an email.

Fusco noted the November case on Pershing Drive, during which a vape shop employee allegedly sold an illegal product to an undercover officer and was arrested. Authorities went back on the same day, into the same shop, and a second arrest was made for the same crime, Fusco said.

“The point of the new cannabis ordinance is to discourage smoke shops and other vendors who don’t have a state issued license to sell it, from selling it illegally,” she said.

Right now cannabis can be purchased legally at one walk-in retail establishment: Hi! People at 90 Pershing Drive.

There are people and lawyers in Connecticut who say that law enforcement and the state bureaucracy is putting undue burden on vape and smoke shop owners. They cite constantly changing regulations, as reported here by The New Haven Register.

No Subcommittee Review?

Traditionally, before an ordinance is adopted in Derby, the proposal is discussed by members of an Aldermanic subcommittee.

Derby Democrats often clashed with Republican Mayor Rich Dziekan during his last, two-year term.

The Democrats on the board heavily criticized Dziekan when he eliminated subcommittees in 2022, saying they were being used by Democrats to slow-walk any progress.

However, on Dec. 11 the board adopted three ordinances – none of which passed through the subcommittee process, and there was little discussion of the proposals by the all-Democrat board.

What gives?

Fusco said one of the ordinances – new winter parking rules – had to be adopted quickly. In general, she said the city’s subcommittees have not met in awhile because of the election and subsequent holidays.