As the number of legal recreational marijuana locations in New York City increase, law enforcement is racing to stamp out over 1,400 suspected illegal locations.
Since New York decriminalized marijuana, the process to get an operating license has lagged behind, giving entrepreneurs about two years to open up illicit shops and masquerade them as safe and legal. With little enforcement of criminal activity, those businesses have capitalized on the city’s weak spots.
Despite the laws in place, which make it illegal to possess more than 3 ounces of cannabis and a felony to have more than 8 or more ounces, the black market has boomed everywhere from small bodegas to trucks, pop-up shops and retail operations.
While city officials have begun sending out cease-and-desist letters, they are also ramping up inspections, seizures and arrests.
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“In the end we have to make sure that the city and the plan that the city has imposed, the reason why they got into the cannabis market, is to make sure that it benefits the city and its social programs,” New York City Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Anthony Miranda told FOX Business, who is leading the Sheriff’s Compliance Task Force.
FOX Business rode along with the city’s sheriff’s office while it conducted raids on some of these businesses, along with its task force counterparts such as the New York Police Department, the Office of Cannabis Management, the buildings department and the fire department. Out of the 1,400 to 1,500 locations that have been identified for investigation, the priorities include those that are nearby schools, houses of worship, as well as community areas that have seen high complaints.
So far, the task force has seized more than $10 million in assets and made 35 arrests since the operation began in November. The total number of discovered products has come at a “significant” cost to the city’s revenue that it brings in from taxes, according to Miranda.
While some shops have illegal products open on display, officers look for hidden compartments or other cues that could signal where more illicit product is concealed.
Officers at a smoke shop in Queens discovered some marijuana flowers hidden in a box beneath the register. Some neighboring items gave them a clue to look deeper.
“These are flower packages that were hidden behind the register,” Sgt. Manny Pineiro told FOX Business. “A lot of times it’s indicative when you see a scale that is in the same vicinity.”
Other popular stashing destinations include under floor tiles and in trap doors within display cases.
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The busted weed shop faces civil penalties totaling $48,900 after officers found that the owner did not possess a license to sell tobacco products, in addition to other contraband, including 5,782 flavored vape products, 80 THC vapes, five packages of THC flower and 21 THC edibles and pre-rolls.
Despite weekly inspections and cannabis tours that aim to educate businesses and the public about operating and consuming cannabis in a safe and legal manner, New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the city’s police need more power from the state to make a big difference. The mayor says the fines are too low and too often the shops can reopen in a matter of days.
City officials also warn about the rising risks of unregulated markets to consumers’ health. According to a study commissioned by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association in November, about 40% of cannabis products contain harmful contaminants like E. coli, salmonella and lead. The study reviewed a variety of weed products across 20 illicit stores.
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Other concerns stem from products being sold in packaging that caters to kids, mimicking popular candies, cartoons or even corporate logos. One shop in Woodhaven, New York, sold a variety of edibles that replicated candy brands, including one package that looks like a pack of Skittles, but is called “Zkittles” and boasts a fruity tropical taste. Another package of HHC gummies called “Packwoods” are reminiscent of the familiar tobacco brand, “Backwoods.”
These varieties of weed products are seeping into schools and into the hands of young children, leaving many hospitalized, according to officials.
All the while, officials are receiving more complaints from residents who say the shops are bringing crime and drugs to their neighborhoods.
Additionally, as enforcement ramps up, pot shop owners are becoming more sophisticated, keeping less volume on site and finding more innovative ways to hide products. But, that is not stopping the task force from making its rounds across all five boroughs.
“We’ll make sure we knock on your door seven days a week,” Miranda said. “We’ll keep seizing it. As long-term investigations go on, we will get into who the owners are, whether they are paying the taxes on financial records. And that’s how we now continue the process.”