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The Rockland County District Attorney's office said it found several smoke shops in Rockland County committed tax fraud and illegally sold cannabis to minors after a year-long investigation.
District Attorney Thomas Walsh said his office, along with the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and local police departments issued search warrants on Tuesday at seven smoke shops after a year-long investigation that originally started to look into businesses running without proper licenses.
“What started as an investigation into allegations of local businesses selling cannabis products without proper licenses, including to minors, evolved into something larger," HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said. "Our investigation found that these individuals fleeced the government of thousands in tax dollars — a scheme they then allegedly tried to disguise."
The warrants were executed at two stores in Clarkstown, two stores in Orangetown and one in the Village of Suffern. The news release did not specify the names of the businesses.
New York State has struggled to get licenses out to prospective dispensaries since it announced recreational legalization in 2021.
The state implemented the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary program in 2022, which gives prospective dispensary owners, especially those who have been affected by incarceration on drug charges, to apply for a license to legally sell recreational cannabis. However, the roll out has been slow.
According to the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, only 78 stores have official state licenses. Just five of those stores are in the Lower Hudson Valley: Elevate and Westchester Harvesting Company in Mount Vernon, Buddega NYC and Etain Health in White Plains and newly opened Treehouse Cannabis in Nyack.
Since the roll-out of these official licenses, local law enforcement has cracked down on illegal smoke shops across the state. In May 2023, the Office of Cannabis Management approved a vote to implement emergency regulations that allow law enforcement to seize cannabis products from unlicensed stores.
Just recently, Gov. Kathy Hochul called for stricter punishments for illegal cannabis shops in February, saying they hurt the legal businesses.
"Let's give states and localities ways that they can padlock the doors, number one, and shut down these flagrant violators," Hochul said.
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