The Mayor Says He’s Cracking Down on Unlicensed Weed Sales. His Task Force Says Otherwise.

thecity.nyc

Submitted by drpvn t3_10vbnl3 in nyc

Days after Eric Adams proclaimed in his State of the City address that “we are not going to let bad actors undermine the promise we made to New Yorkers who were impacted by marijuana criminalization,” his administration informed lawmakers that the task force the mayor announced with fanfare in November to crack down on widespread unlicensed sales had slowed its roll considerably since then.

While in 2022 the task force inspected 53 weed-selling locations in 11 days between Nov. 14 and Nov. 19 and then Nov. 29 and Dec. 3, the new data provided in a letter to the City Council, weeks after lawmakers held a hearing on unlicensed sales, show that it has only inspected 54 locations in the two and a half months since then.

Only two of the 53 locations that were originally targeted by the task force have been visited by it a second time. Both had restocked “illegal cannabis” between inspections. In the course of 107 raids, sheriff’s deputies have made just two felony arrests, “related to possession of over 10 lbs. Of cannabis” and the NYPD has made one, on an outstanding warrant.

Altogether, the task force has inspected fewer than 10% of an estimated 1,400 smoke shops citywide, while seizing just over $1 million worth of cannabis products. The task force adds the NYPD, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protections (DCWP) and the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to an enforcement effort that’s been led by the sheriff’s office, a civil law enforcement agency that’s part of the city’s department of finance.

While the city’s 160 deputy sheriffs and fraud investigators struggle to keep pace and, as the letter notes, the sheriff’s office has 45 unfilled positions, the NYPD has taken a hands-off approach to pot sales:

“If officers only observe cannabis products displayed for sale, officers may not take action. Instead, the officers are asked to document all relevant information and make a notification to the Office of Cannabis Management.”

##‘Doing the Best He Can’

The letter from the city notes that, contrary to the mayor’s talk in recent months about shutting down businesses that persist in selling cannabis without a license after they’d been warned to stop: “The Task Force did not close any locations. While it is routine for us to temporarily close a location during our routine inspections for safety reasons, all locations are able to re-open as soon as our inspection is completed.”

And, the letter concedes, the city has not pursued any asset forfeiture actions against businesses inspected by the task force in November or December, since “Most of the, more than 100,000 products seized, [sic] were not cannabis but rather other contraband including untaxed cigarettes, contraband vapes. Some cannabis products were tested although many were not. If there is not a pending criminal prosecution it would not be a good use of resources to have the lab tests complete.”

City Councilmember Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) praised Sheriff Anthony Miranda for doing what he can to quash unlicensed weed sales in smoke shops, but added that the amount of time spent in one shop confiscating merchandise takes away from its ability to discourage sales across the city.

“We spent one day with the sheriff. I’m talking about 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” Brewer told THE CITY. “I was there the whole time. Three shops. That’s how long it takes. In one case, they took out 18 bags and in another case 20. This is flavored e-cigarettes, untaxed cigarettes [and] cash from a safe.

“When you realize that not many people can really move that fast because they have other things to do, I just feel like he’s doing the best he can,” Brewer said, noting that many smoke shops are violating other rules that could be used to shut them down.

“They’re not supposed to be within 500 feet of a school. They are,” Brewer said. “They’re not supposed to be within 200 feet of a church or synagogue. They are. They have cartoons all over the place and they’re not supposed to advertise to kids.”

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Comments

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Aggro_Will t1_j7gye3k wrote

I like that there's a place that sells weed a few blocks from my apartment instead of only like three in the city and all around Union Square.

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ApartNefariousness95 t1_j7inwdc wrote

I wish I could access one close to me. I live in Queens. I'm a 60 yr old white woman. I don't feel comfortable just going into a place I don't really know. I worry that they are going to rip me off with bullshit or poison me. All I hear about is how many are around. But how do I find access to what is legitimate weed or vape. They need to get off their asses and open up on the outer borroughs. I have been waiting forever for legal weed.

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LongIsland1995 t1_j7jksb5 wrote

My dad is a 54 year old white man and he has no problem going to the stores in Queens and buying weed

So far we've enjoyed the product a lot, and it has been very cheap

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bigdocksmallrock t1_j7j0675 wrote

NY seemed to intentionally limit the number of licenses then give them out selectively, effectively creating a monopoly where they set the price so of course its a rip off. Hopefully they give out more licenses soon

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[deleted] t1_j7pft58 wrote

[deleted]

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ApartNefariousness95 t1_j7ptz89 wrote

Yes, my problem is that I don't get good opportunities to get into Manhattan. I'm hoping I will get a chance soon though. I just wish they would quit dragging this out and open it up to all borroughs...not just Manhattan or Albany area.

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AnacharsisIV t1_j7lmdbk wrote

By sixty you should have some kind of disorder that qualifies you for mmj: insomnia or anxiety or back pain is enough. Once you get your mmj card see if any of the medical dispensaries in queens will deliver.

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SeaworthinessOne2114 t1_j7lcp2d wrote

There's one on Christopher Street, one at the corner of 7th, west corner the block below Christopher, there's a weed store at 7th and 21st Streets and there one one just above 125th Street in Harlem. I've been seaking them out and trying them all. So far I don't mind being the "canary in the coal mine".

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_TheCommish_ t1_j7gk6eo wrote

This is one of the issues I’m glad he’s not actually doing anything about. This hurts no one. The only people that are upset by unlicensed weed sales are losers and big weed corporations

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misterferguson t1_j7hqrz5 wrote

Apply this logic to literally any other business that requires some sort of licensing and you see very quickly why it's extremely unfair to businesses who follow the letter of the law.

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Weaponized_Puddle t1_j7hz4a2 wrote

If a business the size of modern cannabis companies can’t compete with the black market because of laws, it reveals how ridiculous these laws are.

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misterferguson t1_j7hzmns wrote

Maybe you’re not one of these people, but I’m old enough to remember everyone in this sub (rightfully) hoping for a day when substances like cannabis could be sold, regulated and taxed.

If you’re too obtuse to see that any business that dodges taxes has an unfair advantage over its competitors, I don’t know what to tell you.

This is to say nothing of the lost tax revenue that could go to, well, helping people in our society with all the social programs that seem so venerated in this sub.

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Weaponized_Puddle t1_j7i08fp wrote

There’s a tax on liquor in our city, but I’ve literally never heard of a liquor black market. Why can’t they just regulate it like liquor?

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misterferguson t1_j7i0iok wrote

Am I supposed to disagree with this?

The answer is: if storefronts started popping up all over the city where people were selling liquor without a license, they’d get shut down.

My original comment was disagreeing with someone who seems to think that that sort of enforcement would be unjust because “fuck big liquor” or whatever.

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Weaponized_Puddle t1_j7i1d50 wrote

I disagree, I think the liquor tax being so small and unnoticeable is the reason a big black market for liquor exists.

I also disagree that our government is competent to shut down these theoretical stores if they existed in the same vein as the weed stores.

The whole illegal weed store situation could simply be solved by less government regulation on weed. Then people would be buying through the channels that it would actually be taxed through.

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misterferguson t1_j7i1nsg wrote

This doesn’t line up with my personal experience. In my neighborhood, two of the places that sell weed (illegally) are also the spots where everyone buys Virginia cigarettes and loosies. They’re just in the business of dodging taxes. But agree to disagree.

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Nathaniel82A t1_j7hxzuf wrote

Very often it’s those same companies that wrote the laws they are “following”, so they don’t come at it from a point of “what’s the best way to accomplish this law” but as in “what’s beneficial to me and only me, and how can this be written so I’m in compliance but few others are”.

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misterferguson t1_j7hytc5 wrote

That’s just an argument to revisit the laws and their efficacy, not to give carte blanche to any Tom, Dick or Harry to sell whatever they want wherever they want because it feels unfair.

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TeamMisha t1_j7hbotc wrote

I feel like doing this like alcohol licenses would be easier, get license then tax at point of sale, as if it were ordinary alcohol or cigs for example. We already had the infrastructure to do this with the state liquor board instead of making this whole new system

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MandatoryDissent55 t1_j7hwxtb wrote

We should, fuckin... Like... Crack down on the MAYOR for the lack of weed licenses, or somethin. Sick bro.

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lazerphace t1_j7gkvlq wrote

i hope they really do crack down so there are more legit shops. no more of the delta-8 spice BS. you never know what you're going to get

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Bombastically t1_j7gl4ba wrote

They need to be granting more permits then

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lazerphace t1_j7h6bi3 wrote

i have no faith in that process. they could have given permits to law abiding citizens but instead chose to reward criminals. those same criminals are now mad that unlicensed vendors can operate freely. how ironic

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Kochbiel t1_j7hbqu4 wrote

Such criminal enterprises as checks notes Housing Works

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drpvn OP t1_j7gmcpt wrote

Equity takes time.

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Bombastically t1_j7gr28y wrote

This is an absurd excuse. They've had years to review applications and pick ones that have equity value. Former convicts, etc.

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BeMoreChill t1_j7gw4fi wrote

I know this is anecdotal but I have a relative starting his own weed business and he thinks the state is doing an ok job with the roll out. He says they’re making sure not only giant corporations will be benefiting

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xSlappy- t1_j7gs5ir wrote

Going slow to enrich consultants, lawyers and contractors is not “equity”

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drpvn OP t1_j7gulz4 wrote

Reporting you as anti-equity.

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GrreggWithTwoRs t1_j7hzpef wrote

There’s an unlicensed dispensary I’ve been to in BK that’s right next to a prominent precinct. Either they just didn’t care about the risk or they feel very confident that the city will not be cracking down

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soren7550 t1_j7i6f3q wrote

They should just take the L to Bedford, as soon as they’re out of the station they’ll be at least six fake dispensaries along with a bus and two guys with a folding table.

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SeaworthinessOne2114 t1_j7lcac7 wrote

Seems to me law enforcement has bigger fish to fry than weed dealers. Crack down on hate crimes, subway crimes real crime!

I use several of these alleged "illegal" weed stores, the product is great, the kids working the counters in Harlem or in the Village are always cool. I trust the product that I've been using for months.

Dispenseries are few and far between, difficult to get to. Pot should be like alcohol. Yes we have liquor and wine stores but you can still buy both in some groceries stores.

We should have the options. The debate about the "dangers" of weed are only for those who oppose it without looking at the benefits and without realizing that it is NOT deadly as is alcohol. And like alcohol if you have it in the house, make sure your kids don't have access.

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mrchumblie t1_j7im83y wrote

How about we deal with the fake license plates and all of the assholes parking in bike and bus lanes. Oh and the blatantly insane and dangerous driving infractions that have gone completely unenforced by the NYPD since COVID Hit.

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jaj-io t1_j7jfrde wrote

Why? So the two or so legal dispensaries will become overwhelmed? How about you issue more licenses. Don’t we have more important problems to tackle?

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LongIsland1995 t1_j7jkv7d wrote

I like that all these unauthorized shops are around. There are only 3 authorized ones, and presumably they're expensive

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AnacharsisIV t1_j7lm875 wrote

Why can't a dispensary be close to a church or synagogue, and why is it safer for a dispensary to be within 500 feet of a school but only 200 feet of a church or synagogue?

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megreads781 t1_j7inweb wrote

If they got off their asses and revamped the medical program along with making nyc into the top spot for recreation weed then these grey market places would eventually have to adapt. They’ve had years. The revenue is there. It’s the easiest thing ever and they’re making it all so hard.

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