NY poised to crack down on illegal Marijuana shops

Posted May 31, 2023 on Lohud

Cannabis regulators in New York are poised to begin enforcing new state laws aimed at shuttering hundreds of unlicensed shops selling black-market marijuana that undermines the state's fledgling legal cannabis industry.

The state Office of Cannabis Management on Tuesday voted to approve emergency regulations that allow the agency to seize illicit cannabis-based drugs from the unlicensed shops and seek injunctions to close the operations.

How do the emergency regulations work?

The agency will also be allowed to issue higher civil and tax penalties for illicit cannabis sales under the new state laws, which Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers approved earlier this year.

The effort comes as black-market marijuana has been linked to the shooting of a Rochester police officer, a deadly Yonkers apartment building fire and a 44% spike in cannabis-related emergency department visits in New York.