Despite security, Blasdell marijuana shop owner says burglars stole $389,000 in product from vault

Whoever stole the pot on Feb. 23 was able to get through several locked doors, disable two security camera systems and use a numerical code to open the vault at the 716 Cannabis shop on Electric Avenue, according to co-owner John Duncan.

“I would definitely say that the person who did this had extensive knowledge of our business and the building we’re in,” Duncan told The Buffalo News.

He said the intruders walked out of the shop with 6,106 items, more than three-quarters of the shop’s inventory, including gummies, cannabis flower, vapes and other items.

“This has been devastating to a business that my wife and I spent more than three years to build,” added Duncan, whose shop opened in January. “We’ve basically put our life savings into this place.”

The burglar or burglars took $389,000 worth of pot and marijuana-related products, said Duncan, who runs the shop with his wife, Ashley Brown.

The unsolved crime is the first large-scale theft from any licensed marijuana business in Western New York since the state’s first cannabis dispensaries opened last July, according to law enforcement officials and sources in the local marijuana industry.

Blasdell Police Chief Kevin Trask confirmed on Thursday that his detectives are investigating the crime, but declined to discuss details with The News.

“It is definitely an active investigation, and we’re taking a number of actions in trying to determine what happened,” Trask told The News.

Reports and rumors about the theft have been circulating in recent weeks among other local cannabis business owners.

Aaron Van Camp, owner of licensed recreational dispensary Dank on Main Street, said the crime is not representative of what goes on in retail cannabis in New York.

“As an operator I’m very upset that this is going on because it leaves a black eye on the industry,” he said. “It’s not something we’ve had any problems with.”

Word of the incident is spreading, and it is scaring customers unnecessarily, Van Camp said.

“We’ve had no drama here,” he said.

So far, Dank’s shop has not had to deal with so much as a shoplifter, the businessman said.

But crime is a concern with cannabis sellers throughout the country, said Aaron Smith, co-founder and chief executive officer of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

“Retailers take security very seriously,” said Smith, whose organization is based in Washington, D.C. “This is not just an issue of potential product loss, it’s a risk to the safety of customers and employees.”

In order to make conditions safer, he said, the association is advocating the passage of the SAFER Banking Act. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act would make sure all businesses – including state-licensed cannabis businesses, have access to deposit accounts, insurance and other financial services.

“This is a serious problem throughout the nation and is becoming increasingly common as outdated federal banking policies create a situation where otherwise safe, law-abiding businesses are forced to operate in all-cash,” Smith said.

Other marijuana business thefts

There have been some thefts at cannabis industry businesses in Western New York.

Erie County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Springville man last October, charging him with stealing $50,000 worth of legally grown marijuana plants from a greenhouse in East Concord.

After a 50-mile, high-speed car chase, Cattaraugus County sheriff’s deputies arrested two individuals in West Seneca in February 2023. Police said the suspects had $12,000 in cannabis products in their car that had been stolen from a shop in Salamanca, according to the Olean Times Herald and other media reports.

In October 2022, Amherst Police reported the burglary of $2,600 in marijuana products by intruders at a shop that sold “marijuana stickers.” Police said customers of the shop bought stickers and received marijuana as a “gift” as part of the transactions.

Criminals have targeted some marijuana businesses in California, the San Francisco Standard digital newspaper reported last April.

The newspaper quoted state officials as saying 329 marijuana producers and sellers reported burglaries and other crimes in 2022, more than double the number of crimes that were reported statewide in 2021.

Burglars who invaded a San Francisco pot shop stole inventory valued at $100,000, the newspaper said.

A manager at another marijuana business in San Francisco reported that he was kidnapped and blindfolded by assailants who took him to his shop, forced him to allow them inside and stole $30,000, the newspaper said.

The Blasdell case

Duncan said he was shocked when he went to the shop to open for business on the morning of Feb. 23.

“Somebody used a key to get inside, and they were able to disable all the locks on the doors that were coded,” he said. “We have two camera security systems with 22 surveillance cameras, and all that was disabled. The walk-in vault we have requires a code to open it, and someone got inside.”

Duncan said the theft was “very disheartening” to him and his wife because they struggled with so many legal issues and technicalities to open their shop.

He said he and his wife also run a real estate business.

“We were the fourth legal marijuana dispensary to open in Western New York. We opened in January, and before that we were working on our business plan and filling out paperwork for three years,” Duncan said. “You don’t just open one of these shops by snapping your fingers.”

Ten people work at 716 Cannabis, including him and his wife, Duncan told The News.

He said police have told him they are looking at six potential suspects.

Duncan added that he has been dealing with his insurance company over the theft and is hopeful the loss will be covered.

He and his wife also have started a GoFundMe to help with financial difficulties caused by the theft.

There are now nine state-licensed dispensaries operating in Western New York and 93 statewide.

Richard Ruzzo is founder of Shepherd Communication and Security, a 14-year-old, Albany-based company that provides security protection to cannabis dispensaries.

In a case like the theft in Blasdell, Ruzzo said his first question would be, “Who has access to this place?”

The multiple layers of security precautions required by state law are usually enough to scare the average criminal away – or at least interrupt the crime quickly, he said.

“We’re not talking about ‘Mission Impossible’ criminals. In most cases, thefts are crimes of opportunity,” Ruzzo said.