A Queens judge has deemed New York City’s crackdown on unlicensed cannabis retailers unconstitutional, casting doubt on the city’s aggressive approach to curb illicit marijuana sales.
The Associated Press reports that Mayor Eric Adams plans to appeal the ruling, which endangers his “Operation Padlock” initiative that is designed to shutdown unlicensed marijuana stores in order to drive business to licensed outlets.
Initiated in May, Operation Padlock granted law enforcement sweeping powers to shutter as many as 1,200 unlicensed cannabis retailers across the city. The effort included authority to physically chain closed approximately 7,000 corner stores, bodegas, and other venues suspected of selling cannabis illegally.
The recent ruling stemmed from a case involving A S A 456 Corp., a Queens smoke shop shut down by the New York City Sheriff’s Office after an inspection revealed alleged illegal cannabis products. Judge Kevin Kerrigan of the Queens County Supreme Court criticized the Sheriff’s Office’s unilateral power to override hearing officers’ recommendations, labeling the practice a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
The judge ruled that the sections allowing the sheriff to overrule hearing officer decisions are unconstitutional, ordering the immediate reopening of A S A 456 Corp. Kerrigan noted that such powers rendered the hearing process a “theoretically useless function” and potentially “a farce.”
This ruling could complicate New York’s burgeoning legal marijuana market, which state regulators predict will exceed $1 billion in sales this year. With the city appealing the decision, Mayor Adams’ office affirmed its commitment to continue padlocking illegal shops to protect public safety. However, attorney Lance Lazzaro, representing A S A 456 Corp., warned that the ruling might lead to a surge of lawsuits from other businesses impacted by the crackdown.
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