New York’s Emergency Effort To Curb Illegal Weed Shops Are Key For Market To Succeed, Says Lawyer

One of the biggest problems to plague the burgeoning legal New York cannabis industry has been the profusion of illegal businesses that have popped up all over ever since the state voted to legalize.

To combat this, last month New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced new emergency regulations aimed at stamping out these unlicensed establishments, which include storefront operations and trucks, from selling untested cannabis. Enforcement began last week.

The regulations are a proactive effort made by the New York Office of Cannabis Management, an agency that oversees the state’s legal cannabis industry, to ramp up enforcement against illicit operators throughout New York.

On the regulations, Elliot Choi, counsel and chief knowledge officer at Denver-based cannabis law firm Vincente LLP, said they were expected and are more of a procedural matter.

“The regulations mean that enforcement against illegal dispensaries can begin in earnest,” he said. “Hopefully, enforcement reduces the number and stops the proliferation of illegal shops in New York allowing for the legal dispensaries and legal supply chain to succeed.”

For some, these measures have come long overdue in the Empire State, known for having one of the largest and most thriving illicit markets in the country. This beggars another question: Will these new emergency regulations be enough to stamp out illegal cannabis shops in New York or are they just temporary stop-gap measures?

Choi expressed hope it’s the former. “[It’s] to be determined, but they are a good first start,” he said. “More legal stores need to open to reduce the demand for illegal shops. In addition, there also needs to be a public education push so that New York consumers understand which dispensaries are legal and selling tested and compliant products compared to illegal dispensaries selling who knows what.”

In addition to receiving a notice of violation as well as an order to cease unlicensed activity, penalties include fines of up to $20,000 a day.

Upon signing these new measures into law, Governor Hochul noted in a public statement, “Unlicensed dispensaries violate our laws, put public health at risk, and undermine the legal cannabis market. With these enforcement tools, we’re paving the way for safer products, reinvestment in communities that endured years of disproportionate enforcement, and greater opportunities for New Yorkers.”

The New York legal market officially commenced late last year with the opening of a dispensary in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood.