Last week, the start of February, four unlicensed dispensaries were raided by local police, marking a new era for cannabis businesses in New York.
Cash Only toured the shops that got busted, including two that were within a block of Smacked, the city’s second officially licensed dispensary.
After checking out the dregs of a raided store on LaGuardia Place, we went to one on Bleecker where the clerk claimed he didn’t know his employer received a visit from the police just days earlier.
“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” to borrow a quote from Mark Twain.
Two other shops in Little Italy and Chinatown also got hit by the authorities, who confiscated products but didn’t close the shops.
Until there’s a plan to transition the legacy market into the legal one, this game of whack-a-mole between the city and unlicensed bud businesses isn’t going to stop — and it’s a major waste of both police resources and tax dollars.
Watch our raid tour above, and sending love to all our legacy market players out there who are trying to survive in this evolving landscape.
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