Taking A Stand Against The Unlicensed Sale Of Cannabis With Governor Hochul's New Regulations
The Unlicensed Sales Of Cannabis In Our Neighborhood And Parks Should Stop
We can both support legalization of marijuana and advocate for common sense restrictions as to where that should occur. We are firmly against the unregulated selling of marijuana out in any unlicensed setting. The WSA has talked with numerous neighbors, community groups, government officials and they almost universally agree that cannabis should not be sold openly in our park as it is now. It’s common sense that we should not be selling drugs within 50-100 ft of children’s playgrounds, especially when many cannabis products resemble candies (gummies, lollipops, etc.).
There are clear reasons this category is highly regulated for the safety of both adults and children and we should apply those principles to the retail shops around the park and to anyone breaking the law.
New Regulation From New York State And Governor Hochul Enables Meaningful Enforcement
Governor Hochul Announces New Cannabis Regulations (Source: NY Post)
Governor Hochul just announced new regulation that clarifies cannabis legalization and what criteria creates a legal space for those who want to conduct commerce in the cannabis industry. It outlines guidelines for both fines up to $20,000 for most cases, seizure of illicit materials and clearly makes it a Class A misdemeanor to sell cannabis without a license.
Governor Hochul said. "Unlicensed dispensaries violate our laws, put public health at risk, and undermine the legal cannabis market. With these enforcement tools, we're paving the way for safer products, reinvestment in communities that endured years of disproportionate enforcement, and greater opportunities for New Yorkers."
We applaud our politicians for clarifying regulations so that the organizations designed to protect our parks, our communities and our neighbors can enforce common sense restrictions on damaging and dangerous behaviors in the park. It’s important to create clarity that was missing when cannabis was initially legalized..
Why Is Enforcement And Removal Not Happening Now?
We’ve heard the frustrations from the NYPD that many of those arrested for minor drug dealing offenses make it back immediately on the streets, because the amounts being sold at a time or often so small the cases are processed quickly with minimal penalties. These have been legitimate concerns. The regulation now provides meaningful penalties in fines and seizure which should be sufficient to make these sales efforts unprofitable.
Further, we expect the NYPD to enforce the law, especially those that clearly protect us from demonstrable harm. We believe there is demonstrable harm to selling drugs near our children’s playgrounds. Additionally, there have been multiple incidents that escalated into further violence (assault, stabbings, etc.).
The enforcement of cannabis commerce regulations was not made clear at the initial point of legalization, leading to procedural confusions, challenges and a city-wide problem. The legalization with clarity has put the NYPD in an impossible position. The new regulations are much more clear, although they are admittedly focused more on retail locations than popups like those we see in the park. It still requires the collaboration of Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), The Sheriff's Office, the Mayor’s Office, NYPD, and relayed to agencies including NYC Parks and community orgs such as the WSA, so we can report on how this will be handled and we can support those efforts on an ongoing basis. We write this to expedite this needed collaboration.
A Call For Community Collaboration And Enforcement
Police confront cannabis vendors in Washington Square Park, but needed the new regulations to be able to enforce laws. Source: China Daily
With the new regulation in place and greater clarity around enforcement, we call on those organizations including the OCM and the NYPD to act swiftly in announcing how they plan to enforce the regulations to unlicensed cannabis vendors in retail locations and in the park.
We recommend a short notification period to all vendors that they will no longer be welcome to conduct their illegal activities, so that they can remove themselves, and we can minimize the need for follow-on enforcement or conflict.
After the notification period, we recommend comprehensive and continuous enforcement of the new regulations with the fines and arrests that they may entail enforced to the full extent of the law.
How Can You Help? Call The OCM And Your Representatives
Armed with our collective resolve and the new regulation, we can all be part of the solution.
Please fill out an incident form at the Office Of Cannabis Management or call them at 1-888-626-5151 to report every instance of a vendor selling cannabis without a license openly in the park or the surrounding neighborhood.
Please call 311 or go to https://portal.311.nyc.gov/ and report the incidents there as well.
Call councilmember Christopher Marte’s office at 212-587-3159. Because of the redistricting, there will be an election June 27th to elect a new councilmember. Call the office of candidates and make sure they understand your views on the issue and ask where they stand on the issue. Also please call Governor Hochul’s office at 1-518-474-8390.
Until we have further conversations with our local NYPD precinct leadership, we do not yet recommend calling them for instances in the park, only storefronts. The NYPD needs to be empowered with clearer direction on how the regulations can be enforced in the park by the OCM and government leadership.
Once we take care of the common sense issues with clear solutions, we can then address the more complex issues of public safety such as heroin use and the mentally ill and homeless in the park. There are many issues with complex interdependencies, sensitivities and unclear paths forward. This is not one of them. Let’s take action together.