Cannabis Crackdown Accompanies Legal Weed License Program: NYC Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — A new city program will help some New Yorkers sell weed, but not all, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday.

"We can't have local bodegas selling these products," the mayor said. "You can never have a legal market with an illegal (one) ... They can't go together."

Adams' promise of an illegal weed sales crackdown came with the unveiling of "NYC Cannabis," a new city program to support marijuana entrepreneurs and workers, at a pot pun-filled event at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights.

The initiative will offer help for New Yorkers who seek cannabis licenses — for which applications go live on Thursday — to sell adult-use marijuana.

New York State regulates the licensing program, not the city, and states in an FAQ document that any business can apply for a cannabis retail license as long as a stakeholder is justice-involved.

Justice-involved New Yorkers are people who were convicted of cannabis possession (or saw a family member convicted) before legalization in March 2021.

Businesses with liquor licenses can apply, but no New York business will be allowed to sell both alcohol and cannabis.

Cannabis NYC will help qualifying New Yorkers navigate the complex licensing process and gain access to an industry the city estimates could generate up to $1.3 billion in revenue and create up to 24,000 jobs.

Specifically, Cannabis NYC will provide application support, technical assistance and networking opportunities, the Mayor said.

"Today, we're planting the seeds for the economic growth and the economy of tomorrow," Adams said. "The regulated adult-use cannabis industry is a once-in-a-generation chance for undeserved communities, especially Black and Brown communities, to be a part of this new industry here in our city."

Adams' pledge arrived on the heels of an NYPD-led weed truck crackdown that saw nearly 20 trucks seized by the city last week.

Weed trucks and pot shops exist in an at-best hazy legal area, as state officials have yet to approve licenses to sell marijuana.

The mayor explained Monday that the only cannabis sales he'd tolerate in New York City were ones done under the law.

"We're not going to allow trucks to be on our streets openly selling marijuana, coming from out of the city selling marijuana on our streets, not paying taxes, not abiding by the rules," Adams said. "You don't even know what the product is."

New York State officials have also cracked down on city storefronts, but with cease-and-desist letters from the Office of Cannabis Management instead of law enforcement.

This aligns with a policy outlined by Tremaine Wright, chair of the state's Cannabis Control Board, at a forum in Manhattan in April, according to Hell Gate.

"We are not calling the police," Wright reportedly said. "We did not want to begin this rollout with a bunch of police actions."