The city’s efforts to crack down on the illegal distribution of cannabis has resulted in hundreds of illegal smoke shops getting shut down across NYC over the course of a few months, leaving people with the option of legal weed shops, or growing their own plants at home.
Back in June, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved a resolution to adopt regulations for the personal home cultivation of cannabis, allowing adults ages 21 and older to grow their own. According to the regulations, each adult per household can grow up to six plants individually, with a maximum of 12 plants per household, and registered medical cannabis patients can have a designated caregiver grow on their behalf, as long as the maximum number of plants is not exceeded.
The CCB also authorized the issuance of 105 varied adult-use cannabis licenses spanning the supply chain, including various kinds of smaller legal cannabis businesses as a means of paving the way for them to enter and drive up the market, an effort supported by the Social and Economic Equity (SEE) program.
City and state task forces have closed more than 1,000 illegal cannabis shops since Hochul signed a law expanding their enforcement powers, she and Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday during a public commemoration of the city initiative known as “Operation Padlock to Protect.” This effort has shut down more than 779 illegal shops across the five boroughs since it launched in May, two elected officials said at the press conference.
Meanwhile, the New York State Illicit Cannabis Enforcement Task Force has shuttered an additional 230 shops across the state, Hochul said, adding that both figures represent a “real success story.”
“It’s since we’ve been able to allow sheriffs and local police officers and the NYPD and the State Police working together on a task force that we started to be able to go up and go to these nuisance stores — and finally, they’re all going up in smoke,” she said during the conference.
Adams said the city has seized $41 million in illegal cannabis products and issued more than $65 million in civil penalties since “Operation Padlock” began.
Since the crackdowns 10 weeks ago, legal cannabis sales in NYC have increased by 72%, the governor’s office said in a press release.
New Yorkers can learn more about the home cultivation of cannabis in the Office’s fact sheet, available here.
