A new law imposing fines on landlords that knowingly lease commercial space to unlicensed marijuana shops has gone into effect.
The bill, proposed by Queens Council member Lynn Schulman, is the first of its kind that targets illegal cannabis sellers operating in leased commercial and penalizes landlords with fines as steep as $10,000, reports The Real Deal. Meanwhile, illegal weed shops could be hit with $1,000 fines for their first violation and $2,000 fines for subsequent violations.
According to the City Council, there are nearly 8,000 unlicensed smoke shops operating across the city, alleged to be dealing primarily in cash transactions of unregulated products to skirt paying the state’s 13 percent tax on legal recreational marijuana sales. “If a space is being utilized illegally and an owner is aware, it is appropriate for that owner to be penalized along with others knowingly involved in the arrangement,” said the Real Estate Board of New York, who supported the bill.
