Vermont Grower Lands Himself In $US20K of Hot Water After Posting Insta Video Of Delivery To Unlicensed Dispensary In NY

That was an expensive trip down to the big apple!

We love his very sanguine Vermont approach to a mistake he won’t be repeating again!

VT Digger reports

Asmall Peachham cannabis grower has had to pay a big price for a promotional video he posted to social media.

Devon Deyhle, owner of Tall Truck, a Tier 1 indoor growing operation of less than 1,000 square feet of cannabis plants, posted a video of himself on Instagram to promote his cannabis.

“It was a great, great video, but it wasn’t worth it,” he said. “That’s for sure.”

In the video, which he recorded in early December and which he has since taken down, Deyhle gets out of a vehicle and enters a storefront in Manhattan that was not licensed to sell adult recreational retail cannabis.

“It was basically a spot where you could go and buy your cannabis and then it had a smoking lounge out back,” Deyhle said.

At the time, no New York establishment was licensed for recreational sales. The first licensed adult cannabis retail establishment opened in New York in late December.

In the video, Deyhle touts “a little tasty treat from Vermont that’s for you” as he hands over a green and yellow box of cannabis products with “Tall Truck” imprinted on it to women behind a counter.

A Notice of Violation from the Vermont Cannabis Control Board cites video evidence of Deyhle delivering cannabis to the business on the Tall Truck Instagram profile. It cites him for delivering cannabis into the illicit market in New York City.

“It was pretty much a publicity stunt about me potentially opening up the market in New York City for Tall Truck,” said Deyhle. “I guess I pushed the limits a little bit.”

Someone reported the video to the Vermont Cannabis Control Board, and Deyhle ended up paying a $20,000 fine for transporting cannabis outside of Vermont.

“It’s a killer for someone like me,” he said.

In addition to the fine, the board initially suspended Deyhle’s license for 60 days. Deyhle was also fined another $10,000 for making a false statement to the board, allegedly when he told the board he would not be selling cannabis out of state, and an additional $10,000 for allegedly diverting Vermont cannabis to the illicit New York market. Those additional punishments were suspended, provided Deyhle abides by Vermont’s cannabis regulations for the next two years.

Deyhle is philosophical about the experience.

“You make your bed, you sleep in it,” he said. “You pay for your mistakes.”

Here’s a video where he’s on safer ground talking about his sponsorship of skaters