Aug. 2, 2024 By Anthony Medina A targeted operation launched in May to shut down illegal smoke shops has led to the shuttering of over 195 locations in Queens and hundreds more throughout the five boroughs, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press conference in the Bronx Wednesday. The Mayor’s announcement…
Feb. 22, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Several illegal smoke shops in College Point and Whitestone were busted Tuesday by the NYC Sheriff’s Department. Officers seized a “tremendous amount” of flavored nicotine vapes, which are illegal in the state, as well as cannabis products such as edibles and joints that cannot be sold without a state license. The officers were able to fill dozens of large garbage bags with the confiscated products during the afternoon raids. One of the locations targeted was Whitestone Essentials on 150th Street. The officers from the sheriff’s department, with assistance from the 109th Precinct, simultaneously raided…
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Feb. 20, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Almost two decades ago, as a fresh-faced teenager who just graduated from Cardozo High School, Sean Kang was arrested on cannabis charges near his Bayside home. On Monday he felt a sense of justice as he opened the doors to the area’s first legal dispensary – New Metro on…
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Oct. 18, 2023 By Iryna Shkurhan As the state is rolling out legal adult-use cannabis with an emphasis on social equity, community boards have been left with a novel responsibility of approving the dispensary applications that are rolling in. At this month’s monthly meeting that congregates the chairs of all 14 community boards in Queens, a frustration with the state’s lack of support in adopting the new responsibility dominated the meeting. All who spoke up at the Oct. 16 meeting in Kew Gardens expressed a need for more structure to deal with the various challenges that are already coming up…
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Apr. 11, 2023 By Julia Moro Last week, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved licenses for a slew of new Cannabis shops coming to New York City, 18 of which from Queens. Qualifying businesses had to have a cannabis-related offense that occurred prior to the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and…
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Mar. 27, 2023 By Ethan Marshall Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that New York state’s first woman-owned conditional adult-use retail cannabis dispensary will open in Queens on Thursday. The cannabis shop Good Grades, located at 162-03 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica, is scheduled to open at 2 p.m. on March 30. In addition to being the…
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