Adam JacksonNew York’s cannabis regulators are stepping up efforts against illegal marijuana shops, but police say they need clearer guidance to effectively tackle the state’s widespread unlicensed market.
The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has seized over 24,000 pounds of illegal cannabis products worth more than $108 million in the past year, according to Daniel Haughney, OCM’s director of investigations and enforcement.
“We’re putting significant pressure on that illicit market — we’re seeing that in our operations out in the field, and we will continue to do that,” Haughney told Spectrum News on Wednesday.
The state’s 2025 budget allocated $13.4 million to hire 95 additional staff across various agencies to combat illicit sales. OCM has hired at least 25 full-time enforcement personnel so far, the outlet reported.
James Rogers, OCM’s director of business development, said the state’s Illicit Cannabis Enforcement Task Force “operates with 26 separate state agencies, contributing over 200 personnel to this effort.”
However, local law enforcement officials have expressed frustration with the lack of clear directives.
“It’s just convoluted — we just need clear-cut rules,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told Spectrum. “Tell us what we can and can’t do, what they can and cannot sell.”
Apple added, “I think the state did a horrible job rolling this out — I think everybody has agreed on that.”
Despite recent policy changes aimed at empowering local authorities to close illegal stores faster, Apple said he hasn’t seen a big difference.
“Law enforcement have no teeth to do anything with it,” he said.
The state has padlocked 216 illegal dispensaries since April, but Apple said it often takes multiple attempts to shut down a single location.
Recent leadership changes at OCM, including the departure of former executive director Chris Alexander, have likewise raised questions about enforcement continuity, among other issues. Still, Rogers insisted that combating the illicit market “is a priority for new leadership.”
Additionally, an “exodus” of sorts has allegedly taken place within the agency’s office, a source who wishes to remain anonymous told Green Market Report on Thursday. Attempts to reach the OCM were unsuccessful as of press time.
