BRATTLEBORO — A retailer and the Vermont Cannabis Control Board have signed an agreement based on alleged violations of advertising law.
The Leaf incurred an administrative penalty of $18,000, with $5,000 due within 90 days and the other $5,000 due by June 1. The remaining $8,000 will be suspended if the Brattleboro retailer complies with a corrective action plan.
In October, CCB staff received a copy of a Market 32 grocery store receipt that contained "an unauthorized and unlawful" ad for the business, according to the agreement. In November, the CCB was notified that the business had another one on weedmaps.com.
A mailer by The Leaf prompted a letter of warning from the Cannabis Control Board.
None of the ads were submitted for board approval, which is required by Vermont law. Market 32 and weedmaps.com aren't on the CCB’s list of pre-approved forums for advertising, according to the agreement, and the business "never made the required showing that not more than 15 percent of the audience encountering the advertisement that would reasonably be expected to be under 21 years of age." The ads "promoted penny sales which are prohibited and violate Vermont Law," the agreement states.
The Leaf "neither admits nor denies the facts" in the agreement, the document states, but "acknowledges and agrees that the Board possesses evidence sufficient to prove those facts by a preponderance of the evidence, were this matter to proceed to a contested hearing."
The agreement was signed by CCB staff and The Leaf owner Norman Yousif. Yousif did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
