Syracuse, N.Y. — A retail shop in Syracuse accused of illegal marijuana sales has filed a lawsuit saying the city acted illegally when it ordered the business to shut down last month.
T’s Wireless, which is located in the Dey’s Centennial Building at 401 S. Salina St., was one of five business declared “unfit for human occupancy” last month by the city’s codes enforcement office. The city’s action came after the state Office of Cannabis Management and the state Department of Taxation and Finance inspected the shops and accused them of possessing illicit marijuana and/or selling it without proper licenses.
But the lawsuit filed Thursday in State Supreme Court said the city had no legal right to order the business to close.
The lawsuit says T’s Wireless is operating legally as a retailer of wireless communication products and clothing, and has a valid state license to sell certain CBD products, including edible items and drinks which are made from cannabis derived from hemp and have lower levels of THC than marijuana. The state licenses CBD/ hemp sales separately from marijuana sales.
The lawsuit names the city of Syracuse and city Codes Enforcement Director Jake Dishaw as defendants. The city only recently began using codes enforcement to shut down business cited by the state agencies for illegal marijuana sales. The city has been seeking ways to keep illicit weed shops from operating since the state legalized marijuana in 2021.
The lawsuit claims the city is overstepping its legal authority.
“The city’s improvisational use of code enforcement power as a means to ‘regulate’ the local cannabis market plainly violates state and local law,” the lawsuit states.
The suit seeks a restraining order lifting the shutdown action order and requests damages from the city for lost business. It claims the shop has already lost nearly $32,000 in revenues since the shutdown and risks losing at least another $54,000 in capital investments. It was filed on…
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