Two cannabis dispensary stores in Port Jervis have been shut down by state authorities following regulatory inspections of the businesses and products being dispensed from each. The inspection was conducted as part of a collaborative enforcement effort between the State Office of Cannabis Management, the State Department of Taxation and Finance, and law enforcement officers. State Police and Port Jervis Police officers were stationed outside of each store to ensure a peaceful process as is standard protocol for such visits. Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden noted that there were no issues at all in conducting the on-site inspections or the closing of the businesses by the enforcement team. He said this was a civil enforcement of new laws relating to cannabis sales and that such visits are being conducted all over the state. On-site regulatory inspections are part of new state initiatives relating to cannabis operations throughout the state. Stepped-up efforts to tackle the illicit cannabis marketplace include the power to immediately padlock a business if an inspection reveals the selling of illicit cannabis or an imminent threat to health and safety. Seals were placed on the doors of Smilies at 23 Front Street and Port Jervis CBD, located at 78 Front Street. Notices posted on the doors state that the businesses have been sealed by order of the Cannabis Control Board, that illicit cannabis has been seized from each, and that pursuant to state cannabis law and regulations, the businesses have been ordered to close and cease the sale of unapproved and unauthorized products. Business owners have the right to request a hearing to appeal the closure. The closures in Port Jervis are just two such enforcement actions that have taken place throughout the region over the past several months.
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