7 Manhattan Pot Shops Busted In Unlicensed Cannabis Crackdown

NEW YORK CITY — A new statewide crackdown on unlicensed pot shop sparked up with busts at seven Manhattan stores, officials said.

All seven shops received violations for selling unlicensed cannabis products and were ordered to stop, or else face an up to $10,000-per-day penalty, according to officials with the State Office of Cannabis Management.

The busts were the start of a wider crackdown against unlicensed cannabis shops that have sprouted up by the hundreds across the city after recreational marijuana became legal.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, among other officials, has bemoaned those shops and argue they not only sell untested weed, but also undercut efforts to give back to communities hardest hit by over-prosecution of past marijuana laws.

"These enforcement actions are critical steps to protect and help those individuals who were promised a shot to start a legal business and be successful," Hochul said in a statement.

The shops in the first found of busts were, according to the Office of Cannabis Management.

• Varieties on Broadway - 736 Broadway
• Roll 2 Nation - 738 Broadway
• Baby Jeeter - 793 Broadway
• Maze - 16 St. Marks Place
• LaGuardia Smoke - 510 Laguardia Place
• Nomad - 59 West 30th St.
• Play lane - 117B West 23rd St

The crackdowns are part of new enforcement actions signed into law by Hochul with the most recent budget.

Teams of inspectors with the Office of Cannabis Management and State Department of Taxation and Finance carried out the inspections, which will be the first step in shutting those businesses down, officials said.