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It can be tough to open a new legal cannabis dispensary, with all of the paperwork and illegal competition. But Leeann Mata — owner of Matawana Dispensary — persevered.
“What kept me going is that my mother had suffered from opioid addiction and when she found cannabis, that helped with her pain management and it actually prolonged her life,” she said.
Her dispensary opened in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Wednesday and Mayor Eric Adams was there for the ceremonial ribbon cutting.
The mayor took the opportunity to publicly call on Albany officials to grant the city more power to close illegal shops faster.
“Illegal operators threaten the success of legal shops,” Adams said.
The city already has some power under the public nuisance law. It allows the city to go to court for the authority to close unlicensed businesses, like those illegally selling cannabis. But it’s a legal effort that can take months.
“It takes far too long. We say let’s localize, give us the authority. Right now, the New York City Police Department cannot go in and inspect for marijuana. That’s a major blockage in our plan,” Adams said. “If I could have each precinct be responsible to go after those illegal shops and do those inspections, we can expedite the closing down of illegal operations.”
Even with limited power to go after illegal cannabis shops, Mayor Adams said local law enforcement is still closing them — 160 have been shuttered and the city has collected $18 million in fines.
Still, Adams said it’s not enough, and he needs more authority from the state.
Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to make it easier for the state Office of Cannabis Management to order an illegal dispensary to be padlocked, and let local law enforcement carry out the order.
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar of Queens, who attended the event, is carrying a bill that would go farther, by letting the city order these shops closed.
Mata, a Brooklyn native and former teacher, had family members who had been convicted of marijuana offenses — qualifying her for a license. She described the tough application process.
“You had to produce thousands of papers and I also had a brother and a father with marijuana charges, so you had to have that,” Mata said.
She thinks the New York could have rolled out the burgeoning cannabis industry differently.
“It could have been done a lot better,” Mata said. “They should have waited to announce the legalization when they had people in position, with licenses, viable businesses before they let the market run free.”
Mayor visits dispensary in push to close illegal shops – Spectrum News NY1
