NYC Mayor Eric Adams Oversees 4 Tons Of Marijuana Being Burned, Says Nearby Residents Won't Get High
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is back in the spotlight with another dramatic move.
On Wednesday, Adams and NYPD officers presided over the incineration of four tons of marijuana products deemed "illegal."
These items, including everything from edibles to flower, were confiscated from approximately 1,000 unlicensed businesses that had been closed down throughout the city.
"We're going to destroy four tons of cannabis," Adams declared. "We have to stay on top of this because there are so many people who like to participate in this illegal endeavor. ... We're going to destroy illegal cannabis in this city. It's not going to go in our neighborhoods."
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He added how "Illegal cannabis shops and their products endanger our young people and our quality of life, and that's why we are padlocking dangerous storefronts and protecting our children, families, and communities from these illegal operators."
"Thanks to the diligent work of the Sherriff's Joint Compliance Task Force, we have now padlocked over 1,000 illegal shops and seized over $63 million in illegal products. Illegal cannabis nothing like legal cannabis, which is why these illegal products are being incinerated, so they can never return to New York City streets and endanger our youth again," Adams continued.
"We are excited to burn this illegal product here today," the 63-year-old said.
Reworld, the waste management company handling the destruction, was represented by its president, Adel Omrani, who spoke before the products were loaded into the incinerator. A reporter inquired whether the smoke from the burning might "drift into the community," potentially causing unintended effects for local residents.
"No one will get high from what we are burning today," Adams responded. Bobby Green, who oversees the incineration facility, assured that a filtration system would cleanse the smoke, leaving "approximately 99.9% as water vapor."
Earlier this year, Adams initiated "Operation Padlock to Protect" to target unlicensed marijuana shops in NYC, where both recreational and medical use of cannabis is legal. His primary concern, he stated, was limiting children's access to the drug.
"Illicit cannabis storefronts have plagued our communities and taken business away from hard-working legal retailers," said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul in a press release. "That's why I worked so hard to pass new laws that grant enforcement powers to expedite the closure of these shops. Since then, this partnership between the state and city has shut down more than 1,300 unlicensed stores statewide. This has allowed sales for legal dispensary owners to skyrocket and taken New York's cannabis market into its next phase."
