Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul admitted that her administration’s rollout of the legal cannabis market has been a “disaster.”

She said some of the problems stemmed from weak laws leading to lax enforcement of illegal smoke shops. But in May, Hochul approved new powers granting the New York’s Office of Cannabis Management — also called OCM — the new power to quickly shut down an unlicensed shop.

What You Need To Know

  • Under a new law, the New York City Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement agencies have the same inspection and padlock power for illegal cannabis shops as the Office of Cannabis Management

  • Since May 21, almost 150 illegal shops have been shut down across New York, according to OCM

  • The mayor’s joint task force — including members of the Sheriff’s Department and the NYPD — padlocked 450 illegal shops and issued more than $33 million in penalties

“There’s very strict parameters that we work under, with these inspections,” Daniel Haughney, director of investigations and enforcement at OCM, said.

Haughney gave NY1 an exclusive look at inspections on Thursday.

“Anyone can go onto the cannabis website and make a referral to us for illicit sales,” he said.

First, OCM inspectors vet a complaint. They show up in plainclothes. Then, they attempt to confirm the presence of illegal products, typically by purchasing them.

There are 61 legal weed stores in New York City, out of 139 statewide, but illegal shops are estimated in the thousands.

“Just because we have a complaint on a location does not equal it being an illegal shop,” Haughney said.

Once confirmed though, a team stakes out the location for several days. Then, the state task force shows up.

At Bushwick’s Buds and Brains, investigators made a discovery: workers gave cannabis products to clients through a fake door.

“The totality of the circumstances between the signage, the advertisements, the way this [the fake door] is set up and then our observations of product physically coming through that wall and it being adult use cannabis products that are illicit — with that seizure, I think we have a very strong case here and we will be padlocking,” Haughney said.

Under state cannabis law, it’s illegal to advertise sales to minors.

Shutting down another smoke shop on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Haughney says State Police can’t help them inspect, but their presence is an asset.

“[We’re] all working together on one team from another — so you know, a couple from this agency, five from another, you put them together and we’re effectively using the resources where we can spread out the uniform presence,” Haughney said.

Businesses can request an emergency appeal of a shutdown. But within a week, a judge must hear the case and make a decision.

Before May 3, OCM could not immediately padlock and it could take months for a judge to green-light a closure.

Since May 21, almost 150 illegal shops have been shut down across New York, according to OCM.

The New York City Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement agencies also have the same inspection and padlock power as OCM, under the new law.

City Hall spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said the mayor’s joint task force, including members of the Sheriff’s Department and the NYPD, padlocked 450 illegal shops and issued more than $33 million in penalties.

“New Yorkers are seeing and feeling the results of this smart, targeted enforcement that addresses a major quality of life issue, keeps our streets safe and supports the legal cannabis market,” Cockfield said in a statement.