New York is beginning to crack down on illicit pot shops. The state has announced an interagency initiative to crack down on the sale of marijuana from unlicensed stores.
The Office of Cannabis Management will be able to fine illegal pot shops up to 200-thousand dollars a day for selling without a license. The Department of Taxation will also be able to conduct inspections of pot shops to make sure they’re complying with tax laws.
The power to enforce these drug laws comes from legislation attached to the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget.
Since the rollout of legalized weed, Upstate officials have complained about their inability to penalize or shut down illegal pot shops.
“New York is proud to have undertaken the most equitable legal cannabis roll-out in the nation and the State will not stand idle as unlicensed operators break the law and sell untested products to underage New Yorkers,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “These enforcement actions are critical steps to protect and help those individuals who were promised a shot to start a legal business and be successful. Additionally, these unlicensed operators undermine the State’s efforts to generate substantial funds for a social equity fund that will go into the communities that have been hardest hit by over-prosecution of the cannabis laws in the past.”
