A New York judge has ordered law enforcement and state regulators to stop conducting warrantless raids on licensed marijuana businesses, a practice that has drawn sharp criticism for treating legitimate operators as if they were illegal dealers.
The ruling, issued by Judge Thomas Marcelle, addressed the actions of the New York City Sheriff’s Office and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which have come under fire for invasive and heavily armed inspections.
Despite the legalization of marijuana for adult use in 2021, New York law enforcement has continued aggressive tactics. Licensed cannabis shops have reported raids where deputies and inspectors, armed and without warrants, seized products and posted notices on doors accusing them of illegal activity. Business owners said these stickers harmed their sales, placing their stores at risk of closure.
The ruling revealed that legal shops endured the same treatment as unlicensed operations, with raids involving over a dozen officers entering without warning. Products, even when tested and proven legal, were confiscated or destroyed—some flushed down toilets. The judge condemned these actions as violations of the Fourth Amendment, emphasizing that New York’s marijuana laws lack provisions to authorize warrantless administrative searches.
Judge Marcelle also rejected claims by the Sheriff’s Office that it held the same inspection powers as the OCM, pointing out that authority over licensed businesses was exclusively granted to the latter. Furthermore, he criticized the use of excessive force, stating that regulators should rely on “clipboards and pens” rather than guns and handcuffs.
The ruling mandates that all confiscated products be returned to the affected shops, the stickers removed, and future inspections conducted with no more than two unarmed inspectors.
New York officials estimate that thousands of unlicensed cannabis shops continue to operate across the state, raising concerns about the impact of these raids on the legal market. Treating compliant businesses as criminals, Judge Marcelle warned, could deter others from entering the legal market, undermining the goals of legalization.
