Lax laws and paltry fines have turned shutting down the Big Apple’s illegal pot shops into nothing more than an endless game of whack a mole.
There’s no laws on the books to penalize unlicensed vendors for displaying rolled joints and other cannabis products, according to the NYPD.
Instead, cops have been relying on public nuisance laws, but the process requires tedious court proceedings that could stretch for months before businesses can be ordered to shut down.
“It seems like it would be easy for the city to close stores that are illegally selling unregulated cannabis, but under current laws it really isn’t,” said Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), whose employees randomly visited 61 Upper West Side smoke shops last December and found 26 of them illegally carrying pot products.
City Sheriff Anthony Miranda and NYPD brass testified at a City Council hearing last month that there were roughly 1,400 illegal cannabis shops citywide. Authorities typically issue meager $250 fines, in addition to seizing illicit products, but most shops almost immediately re-open.
State legislators are looking to beef up enforcement through new laws and put a stop to unlicensed dispensaries.
State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), author of the 2021 law that legalized recreational cannabis use in New York, introduced a bill last month to help enhance the powers of the state Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance so they can better enforce licensing. She’s working with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office to help finalize the language before it goes before other legislators.
It’s similar to a previous bill drafted by Krueger that stalled last year. That legislation would also have allowed both state agencies to seize pot from illegal smoke shops and yank stores’ certificates of registration over “illicit cannabis” sales.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/11/illegal-nyc-weed-shops-running-amok-thanks-to-lax-laws/
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