By: Jared Evan
Former Governor Cuomo legalized marijuana in March of this year, a move which most people of all political persuasions agree with, however it was haphazardly legalized, with no laws set up to offer permits and licenses to sell the weed, and now hundreds of pot dealers are flooding NYC.
The NY Post reported on Washington Square Park, and how pot dealers are openly selling in public view. The NYPD is no longer making pot arrests, since marijuana is legal, however there are no guidelines as to how selling weed will be legally done.
During a meeting of the state Cannabis Control Board last week, Chair Tremaine Wright said officials were “hearing many examples of sales of marijuana products by individual vendors and retail locations. Any individuals selling cannabis or marijuana products in these unlicensed dispensaries, pop-up shops or markets is not licensed, nor are they selling safe, tested products,” Wright said.
“There is no gray market in New York state. This conduct is not legal and must stop.”
After the NY Post reported on the blatant pot dealing, cops promise to control the situation better.
NY Post reported:
In a statement, the NYPD said cops from the Sixth Precinct conducted “six joint operations with the Parks Department … to address issues in Washington Square Park” over the past two weeks.
The actions resulted in “multiple arrests” and 13 summonses to appear before the city’s Office Administrative Trials and Hearings, the NYPD said.
The Parks Department said the summonses were issued to unspecified “vendors” for violating park rules.
“We will continue to coordinate with NYPD and adjust our approach as needed,” Parks Department spokeswoman Megan Moriarty said.
State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), the prime sponsor of the legalization bill, said licenses could be issued by October 2022.
The situation is just as bad in Times Square, where weed dealers, some displaying gang colors, are selling their weed blatantly in the street.
TJV recently spoke to a Broadway stage hand about the situation in Times Square, “look, I’m fine with pot being legalized, it’s embarrassing that America locks up people for smoking a relatively benign plant, but this scene is insane, these guys out here are not businessmen, these guys out here are in gangs and from the projects, it’s a matter of time, before these dueling weed dealers, start fighting each other, and expect gun shots to ring out, I don’t understand, why there is not a system to offer permits, and professional pot businesses .”
TJV spoke to various people in Times Square, some young tourists liked that pot is being openly sold in the street, while parents felt uncomfortable walking thru the city with pot dealers on every block.
One local New Yorker told TJV News “Cuomo legalized pot as a distraction from his scandals, without any thought as to how this will be managed professionally, so now you have gang members selling weed in the street.”
