NYC Battles Thousands Of Unlicensed Weed Shops

Gothamist reports:

A new boots-on-the-ground survey from Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office found more than twice as many illicit cannabis shops operating on the Upper West Side as in late 2022, the last time her staff canvassed the area.

Brewer is one of city government’s biggest crusaders against NYC’s unlicensed cannabis shops, and the informal headcount comes as city and state officials continue to struggle to crack down on an illicit market that’s proved resilient.

City officials estimate there are thousands of unlicensed shops, although there’s no official count. Brewer’s staff found 53 unlicensed shops selling cannabis on the Upper West Side, according to the count released on Thursday.

Read the full article. As I’ve mentioned here before, there’s probably a dozen shops openly selling cannabis in various forms within a couple blocks of my place.

UWS illegal weed shops popping up like, well… weeds, councilmember’s survey finds https://t.co/IvN2AeZzpF

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) March 14, 2024