Judge: New York City’s crackdown on illicit cannabis operators can proceed

New York City’s crackdown on unlicensed cannabis sellers can continue, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled.

Authorities in the city – where thousands of unlicensed cannabis retailers continue to flout state law and harm legal retailers – have shut down 640 illicit sellers since May, Reuters reported.

Unlicensed marijuana sellers fight back

In a bid to halt that crackdown, 27 unlicensed retailers whose store doors were padlocked and inventory seized sued New York City in federal court in June.

Their suit alleged that the city’s Operation Padlock to Protect program violated their constitutional rights to due process.

But in a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken denied the retailers’ request for an injunction to halt the city’s enforcement.

The judge found a “low risk” that authorities erred in seizing the retailers’ marijuana and a “substantial government interest in protecting public safety.”

“Plaintiffs have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits,” he also wrote.

Significant public health risk

The judge also found a “significant” public health risk stemming from the unlicensed sellers’ unregulated product manufacturing and labeling as well as a notable “risk to minors,” he wrote.

In their original complaint, filed June 19, the plaintiffs argued that sealing businesses “with no judicial review and without a court order” violated their constitutional rights.

“The (NYC) Sheriff chooses to close a business based upon its own unilateral decision that a business was selling cannabis without a license and posed an imminent threat to the public’s health, safety, or welfare,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.

State lawmakers granted city officials the power to padlock businesses after finding evidence of unlicensed marijuana sales earlier this year.

‘Threat’ of illegal cannabis shops

City officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, who has repeatedly declared that the unlicensed sellers are providing cannabis products to minors, praised the ruling.

“We are protecting New Yorkers, particularly young people, from the health and safety threats being posed by illegal cannabis shops,” Adams said in a statement, according to Reuters.

“If you are operating an illegal cannabis business, our administration is sending a clear message: You will be shut down.”

The city has seized $20 million in illegal marijuana and imposed $51 million in fines, Adams said earlier this week.

New York City has 51 licensed adult-use retailers open for business, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management Data, and many more that have received permits are still working toward beginning sales.