Bill targeting illegal weed shops gets push as budget talks continue

As leaders in Albany continue to work towards a state budget, lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would beef up penalties for businesses that sell illicit cannabis. With everyone in agreement that New York’s adult-use cannabis industry needs help, they hope that their bill can provide the necessary stick for operators skirting regulations and chasing the carrot of illegal sales. 

Assembly Member John Zaccaro and State Sen. Jamaal Bailey sponsor the bill which allows for the revocation of liquor, tobacco and lottery licenses for businesses caught selling weed without a proper license. It is a common occurrence for smoke shops, bodegas and gas stations to sell cannabis under the table and the legislation would take a bite out of their legal profits as punishment for skirting regulations. Lawmakers and industry leaders have posited the proliferation of black market pot has hamstrung an already bumpy rollout of the state’s legal market. 

“We have been inundated with an illicit market that has taken over the news cycle and today we're here to say enough is enough,” said Zaccaro at a rally Wednesday. “This legislature will not stand for what is taking place.”

While the state Legislature has recognized the issue, only Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Senate have expressed a desire to address it through the budgeting process. The Assembly’s one-house budget, however, did not include expanding enforcement powers for the Office of Cannabis Enforcement or local law enforcement agencies, as it also hoped to stem the tide of illegal dispensaries that appear impervious to shutdowns. 

Bailey said the bill “does something that makes you think twice about peddling illegal cannabis,” and evens out the playing field for cannabis professionals who followed regulations to open dispensaries and communities that suffered under previous drug policies. 

“If you want to gamble with that (and) take away your livelihood, no longer will you be able to play lotto, no longer will you be able to stock essential things in your store,” he said. “This is a clear message, a shot across the bow.”

Damien Cornwell, president of the Cannabis Association of New York said that the legislation would make the legal cannabis market more sustainable. “This is the issue of the day, we have a lot of new stores come on, and they've been treading water trying to keep their stores open,” said Cornwell.

The push for this legislation comes as New York’s Office of Cannabis Management is under probe from the Office of General Service Service’s Jeanette Moy. By Hochul’s own observation, there are top-down issues with the way the burgeoning industry has been managed, from a lack of licenses issued to problems with retaliation. Cornwell and lawmakers see this bill as another way to preserve the promise of the Marihuana Taxation and Regulation Act. 

“I'm grateful because this action gives us the tools we need to go forward,” Cornwell said.