The New York Office of Cannabis Management reminded stakeholders on Tuesday that it has new powers granted by the legislature last year with which to fine illicit cannabis businesses up to $20,000 a day, powers that it is actively wielding against the underground.
The agency released its first annual enforcement report, which details how the OCM has continued a crusade launched last year by a statewide task force, per a directive from Gov. Kathy Hochul to get the unlicensed cannabis market under control, so that legally permitted marijuana companies could flourish.
The OCM reported that its Enforcement and Investigations Division has inspected more than 1,300 alleged illegal marijuana shops since December 2023 and padlocked about 450 of them. The OCM has also seized more than 7,000 pounds of illegal marijuana flower, 620 pounds of illegal concentrates and more than 9,200 pounds of illegal edibles, worth a total of roughly $70 million, it reported.
Although the state task force wrapped up its work in August after shuttering 345 unlicensed cannabis stores, the OCM’s enforcement team has continued cracking down on illicit shops scattered around the state. A New York City-specific crackdown – led by Sheriff Anthony Miranda and dubbed Operation Padlock to Protect – is also ongoing and had closed over 1,000 illegal marijuana shops in the Big Apple as of September.
If anything, however, the crusade against the illegal market is still a major hurdle, given that Miranda estimated during testimony to the New York City Council in September that there were still at least 2,600 unlicensed cannabis sellers in New York City alone.
To that end, the OCM noted that it is still hiring more staff for its Enforcement and Investigations Division, with onboarding new investigators a “top priority” for 2025, according to the report. Last year, the OCM hired 20 investigators, but it’s not clear how many more the office intends to recruit.
“Our actions remain focused against unlicensed cannabis retailers, which undermine New York State’s ability to build a truly equitable market,” the OCM wrote in the report.
In a press release, Acting Executive Director Felicia Reid said her office will “continue to bring the heat to unregulated operators.” OCM Enforcement Director Daniel Haughney added that the agency is “committed to closing all unregulated stores to protect public health.”
The agency in its annual report pledged to “expediently and significantly expand its enforcement resources to ensure sustained pressure on the unregulated market. Working with other state and local law enforcement agencies, we will continue to follow the illicit cannabis supply chain to identify and shut down the networks supplying the illicit cannabis operations in New York.”
The crackdowns – both in New York City and across the broader state – have had a direct and immediate impact on legal cannabis sales, the OCM reiterated. Legal marijuana sales just in New York City shot up 72% over a 10-week period after the crackdown ramped up last summer, the OCM reported, which equated to a weekly $2.6 million revenue uptick.
ocm-2024-enforcement-report The state Office of Cannabis Management released its first annual enforcement report on Tuesday. Read More
