Gov. Kathy Hochul pitched legislation Wednesday to stiffen fines against unlicensed weed dealers and make it easier to shutter illicit marijuana shops — after allowing a black market to flourish across New York City for months.
Mayor Eric Adams and the city sheriff’s office estimated that nearly 1,500 unlicensed dealers are selling cannabis at brick-and-mortar stores in broad daylight — while just a handful of state-licensed marijuana dealers are open for business.
The black market dealers are so brazen and unafraid that one unlicensed cannabis operator was even selling weed products right across from City Hall. It was closed, then reopened and on Wednesday was closed again.
“Over the past several weeks I have been working with the legislature on new legislation to improve New York’s regulatory structure for cannabis products,” Hochul said.
“The continued existence of illegal dispensaries is unacceptable, and we need additional enforcement tools to protect New Yorkers from dangerous products and support our equity initiatives.”
The new legislation revises the tax law and the cannabis law allowing the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance — for the first time — to crack down on illicit weed sellers while giving local law enforcement authorities more enforcement powers to go after unlicensed storefront dispensaries, the governor said.
Under the governor’s plan, tax officials would be given peace officer status to whack illicit weed dealers, and the tax department would impose harsher penalties for illegal sales.
Breaking the law could lead to fines of $200,000 for selling illicit cannabis plants or products such as THC-infused gummy bears and other edibles and allow the Office of Cannabis Management to fine businesses $10,000 per day for engaging in cannabis sales without a license.
Adams has complained that illegal pot peddlers were getting slapped on the wrist, with fines as little as $250.
The mayor, a retired NYPD captain, previously said he was appalled by packaging for cannabis products sold by illicit peddlers that appealed to youths, including two named after kids’ breakfast cereals — “Captain Crunch” and “Trix.”
City Sheriff Anthony Miranda has also complained of playing whack-a-mole, with illicit shops reopening pending hearings after raids and seizure of cannabis products.
One study even found that some pop-up shops have sold dangerously tainted weed, The lab results discovered the presence of potentially deadly E. coli, salmonella, heavy metals and pesticides in many products.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved a law legalizing recreational marijuana in New York in March of 2021. But the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act did not adequately address enforcement to discourage a black pot market from emerging before the state’s own cannabis program got off the ground, critics say.
Hochul — who took over as governor after Cuomo was forced out amid sexual misconduct accusations that he has denied — and Democrats lawmakers did not amend the law last year to curb the black market despite growing concerns.
The governor announced her crackdown on bad weed after Assembly Republicans sent her a letter earlier Wednesday complaining about the black market and just days after former city Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged her and the legislature to fix the messy law that had gone up in smoke.
“To date, fewer than 10 [state-licensed cannabis] stores have opened. The state’s delayed and dysfunctional implementation has predictably opened a window for illegal cannabis shops to gain a foothold and they have seized the opportunity,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Fulton) said in the letter co-signed by more than 30 GOP lawmakers.
“Aside from the financial issues this creates for legal retailers and the state’s attempt to generate revenue, the explosion of illegal operators raises significant public safety concerns, especially regarding the increased access minors now have to THC and cannabis products.”
Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), a key author of the cannabis law, agrees with the effort to rein in the illegal pot market but said “changes will be needed” to Hochul’s proposal before it’s introduced in the Senate and Assembly.
Many of the illegal shops have flourished in her own district on the Upper East Side.
Another leading lawmaker on the issue, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo) said Wednesday she has not yet decided a position on the gubernatorial proposal.
“I am still reviewing the Governor’s proposal and may be able to speak to on it by the end of the week,” she said in a statement.
Hochul’s bill does not impose any new penalties related to the possession of pot or purchase from illicit dealers and forbids cops from arresting buyers.
New Yorkers are allowed to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis outside the home and up to five pounds at home.