NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 In a renewed push to snuff out New York City\u2019s thriving illegal cannabis market, Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan\u2019s top prosecutor announced Tuesday that they would go after landlords who allow hundreds of illicit shops to operate.
\nDuring a news conference with the mayor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said his office has sent notices to more than 400 smoke shops that illegally sell cannabis, warning them of potential eviction proceedings. If shop owners do not cease operation, his office would seek to force property owners to evict the shops.
\nIt was the latest effort by authorities to force the closure of illegal dispensaries that could undermine the state\u2019s nascent legal cannabis market, which began rolling out in recent months and is expected to quickly grow as more state-sanctioned shops open.
\nWhen the state legalized recreational marijuana two years ago, \u201cmany people took it that you can just open up a location any way you want,\u201d Adams said.
\nUnauthorized pot shops have cropped up in droves, operating out in the open \u2014 and offering cheaper prices than the legal stores, where the products are highly taxed. The number of illegal shops across New York\u2019s five boroughs could exceed 1,200, according to some estimates.
\nThe illicit stores are cashing in on a lucrative market that the mayor says could reach $1.3 billion, potentially generating $40 million in yearly tax revenues for the city \u2014 as long as they are not undercut by illegal offerings.
\n\u201cMarijuana legalization in New York came with rules, and those rules must be respected,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cInstead of respect for the law, we have seen … the proliferation of storefronts across New York City selling unlicensed, unregulated, untaxed cannabis products.\u201d
\nThe notices say that the district attorney\u2019s office is prepared to use its authority \u201cto commence eviction proceedings of commercial tenants who are engaged in illegal trade or business,\u201d adding that prosecutors within five days of the written notice would \u201ctake over such eviction.\u201d
\nThe New York Police Department has sued four illicit cannabis shops in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side to try to shut them down under the city\u2019s nuisance and abatement law, as well as the state\u2019s new marijuana rules. The city said it took the action after a decoy operation found evidence that the shops sold cannabis products to people below 21 years of age, the legal age to buy marijuana under state law.
\nThe state legalized recreational marijuana use in March 2021 and authorized the Office of Cannabis Management to begin establishing a legal marketplace. Most of the shops are to be operated by people of color who had been incarcerated by prohibitionist laws.
\nThus far, the state has issued 66 licenses of the 175 the state expects to distribute. Only two shops have opened, but the rate of openings is expected to accelerate in the coming months.
\n\u201cThose legitimate businesses face stiff competition from shops not following the rules,\u201d Bragg said.
\nHe said it was also a safety issue to ensure that dangerous products, including those containing contaminants, do not make it out on the market.
\n\u201cThese illicit storefronts are putting public health at risk while undermining our ability to build an equitable market that works to offset the harms caused by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition,\u201d said Chris Alexander, the executive director of the state cannabis office.
\nMatt Mundy is the general counsel for RIV Capital, which operates four medicinal dispensaries in the state, including one in Manhattan.
\nMundy said the illicit marketplace not only poses competitive pressures on the developing legal recreational market but also undermines the state\u2019s medicinal operations.
\n\u201cOur biggest concern as a registered organization and as a soon-to-be participant in the adult-use cannabis market is public safety and health,\u201d he said. \u201cThe rapid expansion of the illicit market poses significant risks to both of these.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apnews<\/p>\n
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