Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) has issued a summary suspension of the registration for electronic cigarette dealer (ECD) Planet Zaza.
An ECD registration, issued by DCP, authorizes holders to sell, offer for sale or possess with intent to sell an electronic nicotine delivery system or vape delivery system. But the ECD registration does not include the sale of cannabis products.
The suspension is the result of six failed compliance checks conducted by DCP’s Drug Control Division, in collaboration with the East Haven Police Department. Compliance checks took place over the course of a two-year period, following complaints to local law enforcement alleging the illegal sale of cannabis to minors. Officers said they seized hundreds of illicit cannabis and THC products from the property since May 2023. In the most recent investigation, officials found THC products with counterfeit labels of brands that target children such as Peeps, Game Boy, Crayola, and Nerds.
The license suspension for Planet Zaza comes after earlier this year the dispensary was hit with a record $4.93 million judgment following persistent illegal cannabis sales in spite of a court order and repeated law enforcement visits.
State attorney general William Tong said it's the largest civil penalty ever imposed in Connecticut for illegal cannabis sales.
“The State of Connecticut is not playing around. Legal cannabis is not a free-for-all. If you are unlicensed, if you sell untested, unregulated cannabis, we will find you and we will hold you accountable,” he said in a statement.
