New York Nukes $63 Million of Seized Cannabis Products From 1,000 Shutdown Smoke Shops

New York City officials destroyed more than 4 tons of unregulated cannabis products they confiscated from unlicensed stores under an enforcement operation they started nearly four months ago, Mayor Eric Adams announced Aug. 28.

New York authorities seized the products, worth an estimated $63 million, from roughly 1,000 storefronts throughout the city.

Adams initiated the enforcement operations, dubbed “Operation Padlock to Protect,” on May 7 to shut down smoke and vape shops across the city’s five boroughs that are not permitted to sell cannabis products under the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM)—New York’s regulatory authority for the industry.

This citywide operation commenced following the inclusion of the SMOKEOUT Act in New York’s state budget agreement in April, which provided municipalities the regulatory authority to shut down stores that don’t comply with the state’s cannabis laws.

RELATED: Enforcement Powers, Padlocks Part of New York Plan to Dismantle Unregulated Cannabis Sales

“This is what it’s about,” Adams said during a press conference Wednesday, as he held up one of the 576 bags of confiscated cannabis products that were about to be incinerated. “You can actually smell the cannabis that is here. What we accomplished is exactly what we knew we could accomplish with the right insight and the right focus and determination.”

As of Aug. 27, city officials had conducted inspections of 100% “of the known shops identified” as selling unregulated cannabis products in New York, Adams announced. The task force overseeing Operation Padlock to Protect consists of the New York City Sheriff’s Office, the Police Department (NYPD) and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).

The mayor was joined Wednesday by Sheriff Anthony Miranda, NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban and DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga.

New York City officials have shut down 1,000-plus unlicensed stores at a time when there are 166 licensed adult-use dispensaries throughout the entire state, including 76 in New York City, according to the OCM. These stores rang up $263.6 million in adult-use sales during the first six months of 2024, according to the OCM.

While New York City officials have spearheaded local enforcement mechanisms, state officials have also begun closing down unlicensed stores through an Illicit Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (ICET). A statewide interagency effort, ICET is a collaboration of the New York State Police, the OCM, the New York Department of Tax and Finance and more than a dozen other state agencies.

In the six weeks immediately following ICET’s authoritative actions, cannabis retail licensees in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island collectively experienced more than $1.8 million in revenue growth, a roughly 50% increase, according to OCM Policy Director John Kagia.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Aug. 26 that state authorities had padlocked 345 unlicensed cannabis shops and seized nearly $29 million in unregulated products, or 7,485 pounds. In addition, 136 retail locations closed down on their own, were vacated or ceased selling products due to the ICET enforcement blitz, according to the governor.

“I’m not going to let illegal cannabis storefronts plague our communities and take business away from our hardworking legal dispensaries,” Hochul wrote on social media. “Our message is simple: If you operate without a license, we’ll shut you down.”

I’m not going to let illegal cannabis storefronts plague our communities and take business away from our hardworking legal dispensary owners.

Our message is simple: If you operate without a license, we’ll shut you down. https://t.co/Cphiuk9viV

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) August 27, 2024

The governor’s office announced that in addition to the 345 padlocks administered by state officials, authorities issued 596 violation notices during 789 inspections. Also, the state has held 79 administrative hearings resulting in 57 decisions, 52 of which upheld the emergency padlocking.

These actions coincide with attorney Lance Lazzaro of The Lazzaro Law Firm LCC filing a class action lawsuit June 12 against New York City on behalf of more than two dozen businesses, claiming it’s unconstitutional to padlock businesses “with no judicial review and without a court order, and based solely on the unadjudicated claim that a business was selling cannabis without a license.”

RELATED: Class Action Suit Calls New York City’s Crackdown on ‘Illegal’ Cannabis Shops Unconstitutional

Under New York’s cannabis law—the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act—which was enacted on March 31, 2021, the OCM and its Cannabis Control Board have the authority to license dispensaries to sell adult-use and medical cannabis as well as certain hemp products.

Part of the licensing structure for any state cannabis program is to help ensure consumer safety through regulated products that are tested and tracked. Licensed laboratories typically test cannabis for not only cannabinoid and terpene content but also for residual solvents, chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, microbials, mycotoxins, moisture content and foreign contaminants.

Adams said fostering consumer safety in New York City is part of his mayoral duties.

“Illegal cannabis [is] nothing like legal cannabis, which is why these illegal products are being incinerated, so they can never return to New York City streets and endanger our youth again,” Adams said. “Our successful efforts continue to keep our communities safe and create an environment where legal operators, who uphold public safety and realize the goals of social justice in the cannabis industry, are able to thrive.