Judge rules against NYC in crackdown on unlicensed cannabis shops

NEW YORK – A judge in Queens has ruled that the city shutting down a cannabis shop that was operating without a license was unconstitutional. 

The decision calls into serious question the Mayor Eric Adams’ enforcement program, Operation Padlock to Protect. That operation has closed down some 1,000 stores without cannabis licenses. 

A state supreme court judge ruled that a business on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens that was shut down was denied due process, and that the program that allowed the sheriff to decide whether to keep the store closed for up to a year is unconstitutional. 

An attorney for the plaintiff says the decision will allow every store that has been shut down to reopen immediately and to sue for damages associated with the closing of the store. 

Mayor’s office vows to appeal

The mayor’s office said the city will appeal the ruling, saying “illegal smoke shops and their products endanger young New Yorkers and quality of life.”

The city says it will continue to padlock illicit storefronts.

An attorney for the plaintiff says he is confident an appellate court will uphold the ruling.

It’s not the first time a judge has ruled against the city in regards to the crackdown. In August, a judge allowed a Bayside bodega accused of selling cannabis to reopen.

Operation Padlock to Protect began in early May after state lawmakers on unlicensed cannabis shops.