Chelsea residents trying to weed out explosion in illegal marijuana shops

They’re popping up like weed(s). In the absence of serious regulation, smoke shops illegally selling pot have proliferated across NYC, with residents in Chelsea saying they’ve had enough.

They are mobilizing in a bid to slow the growth: hitting the streets, taking names, filing reports.

“I don’t have a problem with these places existing, but they’re unlicensed and unregulated. I don’t think they’re beneficial to anyone expert for the operators,” Simone Weissman, 65, a real estate salesperson who’s lived in Chelsea for 40 years. said. “And I don’t know that we need so many… I think there’s too many of them now.”

The only problem is it’s not clear who can ― or will ― do anything about it.

Cannabis was legalized in 2019, but the Office of Cannabis Management, the state agency responsible for creating a regulatory framework for cannabis, still hasn’t distributed the necessary licenses for cannabis sales.

The city’s slow transition into legal, regulated cannabis sales has opened a gap for opportunistic business owners to meet New Yorker’s demand for weed. In anticipation of legal weed sales, smoke shops looking to live the high life by the High Line are rushing into Chelsea.

“I was actually shocked. Like this is new. And it’s bold! They are bold,” Cristina Buccola, a cannabis attorney who lives nearby in the West Village said of the influx of smoke shops in the area. “… [They are] opportunists where the rules are not enforced,” she added. “And I imagine they will continue to proliferate until there is some kind of enforcement.”

New smoke shops have inundated the area, prompting neighborhood and community board calls for more education and enforcement. Among the problem actors: One shop that posted a DJ on the sidewalk all day and sales to minors, according to a letter from Community Board 4 to state regulators.

The shops often illegally sell or “gift” cannabis ― also illegal, according to OCM. Additionally, many aren’t licensed to sell tobacco or e-cigarettes, because of caps on licenses.

“I don’t feel like they’re enforcing or monitoring these shops at all,” Albert Wong, 40, a software engineer who lives in Chelsea with his wife and three-year-old, said. I don’t know what happened in the past six months,” he said. “It’s like a new smoke shop opened up seemingly every couple weeks. It was a huge influx.”

In the absence of government regulation, some neighbors have taken matters into their own hands, tracking down illegal smoke shops and reporting them to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection the agency responsible for tobacco and e-cigarette licenses.

On Facebook, one user posted a call to action.

“LET’S SHUT DOWN ILLEGAL SMOKE SHOPS IN CHELSEA!” a woman posted. “Concerned about the proliferation of Smoke/Vape shops in our neighborhood and want to take tangible action to have these shut down? If so there is something you can do! The majority of these shops are operating illegally because the number of licenses issued for this area reached the allowable limit some time ago.”

She asked for a team a volunteers to “compile the simplest of data,” taking three hours to walk to neighborhood, jotting down the names of shops in the area, and then creating a spreadsheet of illegal businesses.

According to Council Member Erik Bottcher’s office, they’ve had discussions with local community members and have said that they’d welcome reports of illegal smoke shops. Speaking earlier this year at a cannabis expo, Mayor Adams said the city would not take a heavy-handed approach to illegal weed sales.

New York is entering uncharted territory in the cannabis industry ― but the laws are having trouble keeping up. After decades of prohibition, creating paths for legal weed sales while preventing people taking advantage of the hazy moment is a challenge.

“I think there are a number of dynamics at play right now, and Chelsea is a microcosm for a lot of what we’re seeing,” Melissa Moore, previous NY State Director for Drug Policy Alliance, said.

The backlash in Chelsea shows how an unregulated market can go.

I think it really actually shows the need for and the desire for actual licensed dispensaries,” Moore said. “These folks wouldn’t be trying to maintain the type of façade or the optics of being a licensed shop and dispensary if that weren’t what the public really wanted.”

Smoke shops, cannabis and tobacco products are currently enforced through a confusing, patchwork network of government agencies.

The cap on tobacco and e-cigarette dealers in Community Board 4, which includes Chelsea, is currently past its maximum amount, a number established during the de Blasio administration.

The cap for tobacco dealers is 97 and the cap for e-cig dealers is 58. Because of shops grandfathered in under previous legislation, there are 144 licensed tobacco dealers and 102 e-cig dealers. This means any new smoke shop in Chelsea is almost sure to be illegal.

“We encourage all New Yorkers who suspect a store is selling tobacco or e-cigarette products without a license, or in violation of the State’s and City’s rules, to reach out and file a complaint via 311,” Michael Lanza, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement.

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Cannabis sales are also problematic. Although using weed is legal, selling it recreationally isn’t. The lack of a formal dispensary system has opened the door for a growing gray market.

“Simply put: you need a license to sell cannabis in New York,” Aaron Ghitelman, OCM spokesperson, said. “If you do not have one, you are not selling cannabis legally. The Office of Cannabis Management implores all illegal store operators, including stores pretending to be legal operations, to stop selling cannabis products immediately or risk facing additional consequences.”

Shops try to work around the law by selling memberships to clubs or gifting cannabis to a customer that purchased another item. OCM says that these activities do violate the law – any cannabis sales are illegal, even if gifted or comes with a membership.

Buccola said a current a lack of integration between OCM and the city government has made things more complicated.

“I would be the last person to join these guardian angels of Chelsea that have taken it upon themselves,” she said. “People need to make money, people need to engage in business. [But] I’m not a fan because part of having a regulated industry is having a product that you can source and you can trace and so you don’t really know where this product is coming from.”

Even if the stores do intend to now establish themselves and later apply for a license to sell, they may be setting themselves up to fail.

“Their actions currently are going to really end up shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to applying for and trying to secure a license. The real small short term gains that they’re calculating, I think will be heavily outweighed by actually not being able to participate in the market,” Moore said.