(31 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York – 31 July 2024
1. Chart showing the number of cannabis shops closed in New York City with the confiscated product in the background
2. Various, cannabis infused products
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gov. Kathy Hochul, (D) New York:
"These criminals are very clever, right? It’s whack a mole and we’re playing whack a mole for a long time. Because the city did not have the power to put on a padlock that would stay on. It became a game. They thought they were winning. Well, guess what? They lost."
4. Various, cannabis products confiscated
6. A package of cannabis infused gummies
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gov. Kathy Hochul, (D) New York:
"These illegal products have fentanyl and are laced with other products. They’re not pure. They’re unsafe. They could kill you. And people don’t realize that either."
8. Table full of confiscated cannabis product
9. Cannabis infused package of blueberry sour candy
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Mayor Eric Adams, (D) New York:
"And so we want to find out what’s the source, how they get into the city. What’s the distribution network to move it throughout, because there is clearly a very sophisticated distribution network."
11. Cannabis infused gummies
12. Crates full of cannabis candy
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sheriff Anthony Miranda, New York City:
"So for over a three month period of time, we closed over 750 locations were closed by the city, another 250 were closed by the state. So we collectively closed down over 1,000 locations in this three month period of time. We’ve seized over $41 million worth of product, and we’ve issued over $60 million in fines."
14. Various, confiscated cannabis products
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Sheriff Anthony Miranda, New York City:
"We confiscate anything from illegal cannabis from the different packaging that they use. Flour. Direct flour in jars. We have a kind of children’s packaging. You have 100 different ways that they package this product. So every conceivable way that they’re packaging it, we are seizing that product. We seize illegal vapes, illegal flavored paper that have been banned by the city council, and we also seize illegal cigarettes if they’re selling inside that location."
16. Various, warehouse that holds confiscated smoke shop products from illegal vapes to illegal cigarettes
STORYLINE:
Thousands of marijuana shops boldly opened without a license in New York City after the state legalized recreational use of the drug, but after more than a year of lax enforcement, new state rules are finally allowing officials to padlock their doors.
New York City’s sheriff’s office says it has shuttered around 700 illegal stores since new state regulations passed in April. The unsanctioned shops had become ubiquitous across the Big Apple, when the city’s power to step in had been limited and the legal market was mired in red tape.
Officials had estimated there were some 2,900 unlicensed vendors throughout New York City — compared to around 60 licensed dispensaries currently operating. But cannabis industry licensees say the sheriff is starting to bring order.
Around 100 shops have successfully defended themselves against the fines since April, often by citing the sheriff’s lack of evidence or faulty paperwork, according to an Associated Press analysis of city court data. But some of those businesses still closed anyway.
The sheriff’s office says it has also issued violations amounting to more than $57 million since April, though it’s unclear how much of that sum has been collected.
AP video shot by Joseph B. Frederick
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