Councilman Eric Adams and also the top prosecutor in Manhattan said on Tuesday that they plan to target landlords who had knowingly allowed hundreds of illegal stores to remain open in New York City.
County Attorney Alvin Bragg of Manhattan announced at a press conference alongside the city’s mayor that his office had written letters to more then 400 smoking shops selling cannabis unlawfully.
If business owners do not close up shop, his office will try to get them kicked out of the building.
It was the latest attempt by authorities to shut down unlicensed dispensaries that threaten the state’s burgeoning legal medical marijuana market, which has only recently begun to take shape but is anticipated to expand rapidly as more legally operating stores emerge.
A New Round Of Drug Raids Has Begun
‘Many organizations take it that you were able just put up a place any way you want,’ Adams said, after the state legalised recreational cannabis two years ago.
There has been a proliferation of unlicensed dispensaries that sell cannabis openly and advertise lower pricing than the government-sanctioned businesses. Some estimates put the total number of unlawful businesses operating in the five boroughs of New York City at around 1,200.
The illegal shops are profiting from a thriving industry that the mayor estimates is worth $1.3 billion and could bring in $40 million in annual tax revenue for the city if legitimate businesses are not undercut.
It’s important to remember that New York’s marijuana legalisation is accompanied with a set of regulations that must be followed “According to what Bragg has said.
As the author puts it, “instead of paying attention to the law, we ’ve noticed…” the explosion of pot shops in New York City that aren’t authorised by the government and don’t pay taxes.
The letters state that the district prosecutor’s office will “take over such eviction” within five days of receiving written notice and will “commence eviction proceedings against commercial renters who are involved in unlawful trade or commerce.””
To my knowledge, today marked the first day of business for the first legal drugstore founded by a recently jailed person. According to a report by Gaby Acevedo.
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People Who Sell Drugs Illegally Are Being Sent Back To Their Safe And Secure Prisons
The New York Metropolitan Police Department has filed lawsuits under the city’s disturbance and abatement legislation and the state’s new marijuana regulations against four illegal cannabis stores on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
The city claimed it took the measure after a sting operation revealed the stores had sold cannabis items to minors under the state’s legal purchasing age of 21.
In March of 2021, the state legislature legalised recreational marijuana usage and gave the Bureau of Cannabis Management the green light to begin creating a regulated market.
People of colour who had previously been incarcerated as a result of prohibitionist policies are expected to run the majority of the stores.
A total of 66 licences have been issued so far, out of a possible 175 issued by the state. So yet, just two stores have opened, but that number is projected to grow rapidly over the next few months.
Competition for law-abiding enterprises is “heavy,” as Bragg put it. He added that preventing potentially hazardous products, such as those containing pollutants, from reaching consumers was also important.
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Rapid Raids Are Being Conducted On What Seems Like A Thousand Dispensaries All At Once
In New York City, just one store has been granted permission to sell cannabis, but according to the city’s sheriff, 1,400 other stores are selling it illegally. According to Erica Byfield’s report.
Chris Alexander, deputy executive director of something like the state cannabis office, said, “These illicit outlets are putting human well-being in jeopardy while undermining our ability to develop an equitable market that serves to counter the damages produced by the unequal enforcement of cannabis prohibition.”
RIV Capital, which runs four medical dispensaries across the state (including one in Manhattan), employs Matt Mundy as its general counsel.
Attorney General Ken Mundy has stated that the state’s medical operations are threatened by the illicit market because of the competitive pressures it places on the emerging legal recreational sector.
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He emphasised that “public safety and health” is the company’s top priority as a legally recognised entity and an upcoming player inside the adult-use cannabis industry. Both are in danger due to the illicit market’s rapid growth.
After last week’s move, Miranda, who was present at Tuesday’s announcement with the mayor and Manhattan prosecutor, talked with the Advance/SILive.com and called the development of smoke shops selling marijuana illegally is a “serious problem” that is “widespread throughout the city.”
According to a written letter, Federal Prosecutor Michael E. McMahon is also increasing enforcement and pushing for tougher sanctions for offenders.
No matter where you sit on the pros and cons of legal marijuana, McMahon says, there should be completely unfair for black marketplace sales of cannabis goods,” especially to the most vulnerable members of Staten Island society: the island’s youth.
Staten Islanders and my Financial Crimes Division, Investigative Detectives, the Community Outreach Unit will keep working together to shut down illegal pot establishments. Is if black marketplace is allowed to thrive, the legitimate market will fail.
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Conclusion
The NYPD has decided to use the Nuisance Abatement Law to close down these illegal businesses because they are selling cannabis without a licence, which is against the law in New York State.
