Suffolk advances bill to empower police to close down illegal cannabis shops, fine violators up to $25G

Suffolk County officials are considering a law that would empower police to crack down on illegal cannabis retail shops, issuing them a fine as much as $25,000 and potentially padlocking them.

A bill pending before the county legislature would grant police the authority to conduct inspections and pursue enforcement actions against businesses not authorized to sell cannabis products. It would allow police to inspect any marijuana store or vehicle retailer that is not listed on the directory kept by the state Office of Cannabis Management and issue violations, seize their product and close them down.

No one testified at Tuesday’s legislature hearing in Hauppauge. Lawmakers voted 17-0 to close the hearing and advance the bill for a future vote.

"Although cannabis is now legal in New York State and will provide important revenue that will help fund the services government is mandated to deliver, there must be law and order in the industry," Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, who proposed the legislation, said in a statement. "Legislation makes it clear that if you want to be in the cannabis business you need to do it legally."

New York has been slow to roll out the regulatory process for marijuana sellers, and Long Island has only three state-licensed cannabis shops, all in East Farmingdale. Meanwhile, unlicensed shops have opened across Long Island since weed became legal in 2021. Thousands of unregulated stores also have opened in New York City since, becoming a major quality-of-life issue in some parts.

The Suffolk law would require a representative of the county’s labor, licensing and consumer affairs department to coordinate with the state and report the enforcement actions. Violators could face fines between $100 and $25,000, depending on the type and duration of the offense.

Members of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, a trade group, support the bill.

The group’s co-founder and vice president, Hugosbely Rivas — who hopes to open a legal cannabis store — said townships that forbid marijuana retail shops should note that illegal stores often pop up when lawful establishments are prohibited. Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton are the only Long Island towns to opt into cannabis sales.

"All these illegal locations that are selling cannabis are putting our community in danger for many reasons," he said. "Hopefully, these towns will realize that legal cannabis dispensaries need to be opened in order to not have these [illegal] locations."

A representative of the Suffolk County Police Department declined to comment on the bill. It is unclear if similar legislation exists in Nassau County, as a police spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to questions on whether Nassau has taken similar action.

The 2024-25 state budget includes a provision allowing municipalities to adopt legislation expanding their enforcement of cannabis laws. In August, Gov. Kathy Hochul said 345 businesses, which included eight on Long Island, had been padlocked over a three-month period following the creation of the state Cannabis Enforcement Task Force.

State law requires inspections be "conducted in a reasonable manner" and are designed to detect "administrative" rather than criminal violations. They must be done during business hours, according to the county law.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.