STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Since the use of recreational marijuana was legalized in New York, “smoke shops” seem to be popping up everywhere.
However, only 36 Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses were granted to New York entities to sell weed legally. So far, only two of these licensed shops have opened in the Big Apple, and both are located in Manhattan.
With legal weed shops set to open across the state, it’s hard for people to know which stores are licensed and which ones are not. There’s a “New York State Licensed Cannabis Dispensary” verification tool that’s posted in the windows of licensed retail dispensaries. But that’s the only sure sign that a shop is licensed.
At a City Council hearing earlier this month, officials said they were worried about the “tidal wave” of illegal weed shops and their effects on the legal industry.
And when authorities recently shut down an illegal marijuana shop across the street from City Councilwoman Gale Brewer’s Manhattan office, she found the store fully stocked and reopened just a few days later.
While the legal market is highly regulated, Brewer and others said dangerous substances have been reported in the products from illegal shops. And while marijuana is legal for those 21 years or older, a robust black market makes it easier for kids and teenagers to buy cannabis products.
Current New York law states that it’s still illegal to possess or sell more than three ounces of cannabis or more than 24 grams of...
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