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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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New York aims to crack down on illegal cannabis stores
#28371285 - 06/23/23 12:26 PM (10 months, 20 days ago) |
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New York aims to crack down on illegal cannabis stores June 22, 2023 - North Country Public Radio
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced results of new enforcement actions to crack down on illegal cannabis shops in New York. Hochul said those stores are a barrier to creating a thriving and equitable cannabis industry.
"They are driven by individuals who are flagrantly violating the law," Hochul said. "They are creating competition where there should be none."
The governor cautioned of health risks to consumers as illegal stores do not have state-tested and regulated products.
"This does not have the New York State seal of approval," Hochul said. "You do not know what the product could possibly be laced with or have other contaminants. That is a risk that people should not be able to take."
Unlicensed businesses are now subject to fines of $10,000 a day — the fine can double to $20,000 a day if businesses continue to sell after a violation is affixed to their window. Additionally, if unlicensed businesses continue selling after they receive a violation, the state can pursue a court order to shut them down and padlock the store.
Hochul said illegal shops deny the state tax revenue anticipated from legitimate dispensaries as 40% of the revenue goes to the Community Reinvestment Fund, which helps communities affected the most by the heavy enforcement of cannabis sales in the past.
"We also want to use the rest of the money for public education, safety, protect our kids," Hochul said. "Illegal sales aren't just unfair and unsafe, they're also unjust."
Legal cannabis dispensaries will have a verification tool near their entrance with a QR code that can be scanned to confirm the store is state-licensed. The state recently confiscated 1,000 pounds of cannabis from 31 businesses across the state — an estimated value of close to $11 million over a two-week period.
"We're building an equitable system like no other, something we all should be proud of," the governor said. "Let people know we have zero tolerance for the bad actors who are standing in our way of full success."
The New York state budget includes $5 million for additional Office of Cannabis Management Staff to enforce regulatory requirements and close down illicit stores.
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Neon Groove
Stranger
Registered: 07/19/22
Posts: 20
Last seen: 5 months, 19 days
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Re: New York aims to crack down on illegal cannabis stores [Re: veggie]
#28372642 - 06/24/23 12:05 PM (10 months, 19 days ago) |
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This pisses me off so much. It's great they legalized it almost two years ago, but I have yet to have a dispensary less than 100 miles from me. NY has totally screwed this all up, and now that they have shit to show for it, they want to start with the heavy handed enforcement against those who want to operate a business....
Since they legalized, I have seen numerous shops open for a few months then close up, and all were really great places with good people. I understand they are illegal, but the government has left a huge void and has had long enough time to fill it.
I get my weed from local growers and friends, but it's nice to visit a dispensary and pick up some goodies every once in a while. I dunno, leave it to NY to fuck up something so simple.
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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Re: New York aims to crack down on illegal cannabis stores [Re: Neon Groove]
#28372792 - 06/24/23 01:57 PM (10 months, 19 days ago) |
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New York really dropped the ball with implementing cannabis legalization. Now there is 100's of tons of a cannabis surplus that legal growers can't sell.
The process to license dispensaries is so slow and bogged down with regulations, (and possible coruption), that it is no wonder illegal dispensaries are popping up to get cannabis to a wanting public. New York should just go ahead and license all of these successful dispensaries and get the tax dollars from them instead of shutting them down.
Otherwise, the legal growers will go bankrupt, people will just revert back to buying black market marijuana, and the whole legalization effort would have been a huge waste of time.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 18,037
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: New York aims to crack down on illegal cannabis stores [Re: veggie]
#28373505 - 06/24/23 11:12 PM (10 months, 19 days ago) |
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They need those taxes to pay for programs.
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