Hollister Police worked with the management of a new cannabis dispensary to stop the distribution of allegedly unauthorized marijuana products in the community.
On Oct. 9, the Hollister Police Department’s Cannabis Safety Officer learned that the state Bureau of Cannabis Control was conducting an investigation, reads a press release from Hollister Police. The authorities had been investigating an illegal cannabis manufacturer that was producing illegal vape cartridges and edibles.
This manufacturer, Southern California-based Kushy Punch, holds a license in California to manufacture and produce cannabis products. However, the company is now accused of producing illegal products under the same names, according to police.
The police department’s Cannabis Safety Team, which works closely with the local cannabis businesses, met with staff at Genesis Marketplace on Shelton Drive in Hollister, according to police. The officers met with Genesis staff in hopes of working together on the investigation of Kushy Punch.
Police learned that although Genesis Marketplace carries some edible products from Kushy Punch, dispensary staff had already been warning the general public of the investigation and did not have the items displayed for sale, according to authorities.
Police and Genesis management inspected the inventory and reviewed testing paperwork provided by the distributor, police said. They found some discrepancies between some of the testing results and the packaging of the Kushy Punch products that had been up for retail sale.
“Without hesitation, Genesis managers voluntarily gathered products in question and returned them to the distributor,” police said.
Since opening earlier this year, Genesis Marketplace has been “fully cooperative” in the police department’s ongoing goal of ensuring local cannabis businesses are secure and compliant with state and local laws, according to police.
Sal Palma, of Genesis Marketplace, said, “The safety and well-being of our customers and patients is our top priority. It is unfortunate that some companies are willing to operate outside the lines of legality, but we will continue to act as the safety net between those bad actors and our clientele.”
