Legal weed in New York derails with $54 million pot haul
Recent evidence shows that New York has completely failed in its marijuana policies, as evidenced by the seizure of 11,000 pounds of weed and weed products valued at $54 million from illegal shops in 2023.
This issue arose as a result of the legalization of marijuana in the city and state, creating a significant open market for it and driving a high demand for illegal shops to cater to it. The process for opening a legal marijuana shop is complex and slow, leading to more delays due to the state’s failure to follow its own laws in awarding the first licenses.
Furthermore, the first licenses were exclusively awarded to “justice involved” individuals, leading to litigation that blocked all other applications for most of a year. As a result, there are only 27 legal weed stores statewide, with 12 in the city, compared to an estimated 1,500 illegal shops in Gotham.
This situation was predicted by opponents of the 2021 law legalizing marijuana, who foresaw the proliferation of illegal shops. Additionally, the economic benefits of weed sales have not materialized, with illegal shops thriving while legal ones are just getting started.
Furthermore, illegal cannabis shops have become targets for violence, with pot-shop workers among the victims. This highlights the failure of New York’s overall pot law.
