New York’s elected officials can agree on one thing when it comes to the state’s troubled marijuana market: The state must do something about the thousands of unlicensed cannabis sellers.
And they appear near a deal to give local governments more authority to crack down on the illegal stores as part of a state budget that could come together as early as next week.
Changes can’t come soon enough, according to legal sellers and lawmakers. Three years after legal weed became law, only 94 licensed storefronts have opened up shop to sell their wares to adults over 21.
New York City officials have estimated it has at least 2,000 illicit cannabis storefronts — though the actual number is likely far higher — and illicit operators have sprung up all over the state to meet the demand of one of the nation’s largest marijuana markets.
The botched implementation is posing problems for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ordered a review of the troubled cannabis agency and called her own administration’s handling of the market “a disaster.” It’s also impeding the state’s efforts to repair the harms of marijuana enforcement by licensing entrepreneurs impacted by cannabis convictions.