UWS Weed Shop Closed In Ongoing Unlicensed Cannabis Crackdown

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Earlier this month, the New York City Sheriff's Office padlocked an illegal smoke shop on the Upper West Side as part of their ongoing crackdown on unauthorized smoke and cannabis outlets across the city's five boroughs.

A multi-agency effort led by New York City sheriff's officers led to the shutdown of the smoke shop, Pure Green, located on West 72nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenue.

The organized shutdown was part of Operation Padlock to Protect, a sustained multi-agency enforcement action to shut down illegal smoke and cannabis shops across the five boroughs, which began in early May.

As of Wednesday, Pure Green remains temporarily closed.

Since the initiative's enforcement, the New York City Sheriff’s Joint Compliance Task Force, comprising members from the Sheriff’s Office, the NYPD and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), has sealed more than 75 locations and imposed fines totaling over $6 million.

"For too long, illegal operators have posed a threat to our children, our public safety, and our quality of life, and they have undermined those justice-involved, legal businesses that are trying to succeed," Mayor Eric Adams said. "With this coordinated and sustained multi-agency enforcement, we will help usher in a thriving, safe, and just legal cannabis market that our city deserves."

The Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force affirmed their commitment to conducting coordinated operations in neighborhoods across all five boroughs. This involves both initial inspections and subsequent follow-ups.

In instances where retailers are instructed to be sealed, local NYPD precincts oversee these locations to ensure adherence and promptly notify the Sheriff’s Office of any breaches of the seal order.

During its first week of operations, the task force carried out 150 inspections of unlicensed establishments located near schools or houses of worship allegedly selling cannabis, THC edibles, THC vape products, flavored tobacco, flavored vapes, or other tobacco items within the jurisdictions of the NYPD’s eight borough commands.

Inspections resulted in:

• More than 70 cease-and-desist orders and 75 shops were sealed.
• A total of 370 notices of violations held 3,878 counts of violations across NYPD, DCWP, and the Sheriff’s Office.
• More than $5,960,000 in civil penalties were issued.

Recreational marijuana is legal in New York, but legally regulated stores have been slow to get started. There are just 24 legal dispensaries in Manhattan.

In contrast, hundreds of unauthorized cannabis dispensaries have blossomed across the city, threatening to smoke out the legal ones, according to city officials.

"Thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul and our partners in the state Legislature, New York City is now using the full force of the law across every borough to padlock and protect our streets. Legal cannabis remains the right choice for our city, but to those who choose to break the law — we will shut you down," Adams said.