Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano is happy to see that the state has taken a more aggressive approach to curbing illegal cannabis stores under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s direction.
The renewed state attitude, coupled with proactive local ordinances and municipal police, recently culminated in the largest illicit cannabis sale enforcement the city has seen.
On June 27, Middletown police executed court-issued search warrants on 15 stores along with 40 or so members from a state task force, resulting in more than 300 pounds of seized illegal cannabis products, 12 businesses placarded by warning signs, and two stores losing tobacco licenses.
“Our police chief has a plan, and I am in support of it,” Mr. DeStefano told The Epoch Times in his office. “And it is a good thing that the state has heard from mayors and supervisors throughout the state and is putting in the resources to correct the problems.”
Since New York legalized recreational cannabis two years ago, cannabis products multiplied in the city—even though they were illegal, as the city chose to opt out of the law altogether—and most police complaints filed with the new state regulatory board resulted in no swift actions.
Of the three cities in Orange County—the other two being Port Jervis and Newburgh—Middletown is the only one that opted out of both recreational cannabis retail and on-site consumption, according to data from the state Office of Cannabis Management.
As Middletown police conducted its own investigation and sought search warrants from city judges in preparation for a bust, the state also stepped up its enforcement.
This spring, Ms. Hochul announced an overhaul of the Office of Cannabis Management to improve the rollout of the infant recreational cannabis industry. This overhaul included enhanced enforcement tools, such as padlocking authority for the office and a new dedicated state task force.
Led by the state police’s first deputy superintendent, the task force taps from 16 state agencies, including the departments of Taxation and Finance, Labor, and Health.
When the task force unites with local police, it multiplies the enforcement power and outcome, according to Middletown police chief John Ewanciw in an interview.
“We contacted them and pushed for the collaboration, and they are fantastic to work with,” he said, adding that while local police enforce under municipal codes, state agencies have powers to revoke licenses and even padlock a storefront when certain conditions are met.
On June 27, the state task force had one locksmith on standby as Middletown police executed search warrants on one business premise after another, according to Mr. Ewanciw.
When two stores were found selling untaxed cigarettes on that day, the Department of Finance and Taxation personnel immediately moved to revoke their tobacco licenses. “That is something we didn’t even consider,” Mr. Ewanciw said.
Statewide, the cannabis enforcement task force padlocked 114 stores in its first three weeks, according to a June 18 press release by the Governor’s Office.
Middletown police arrested more than a dozen people on June 27 for prosecution at the city court.
While looking forward to more local-state collaboration in the future, Mr. Ewanciw said the city police would not be dependent on it.
“Going forward, we will continue to do compliance checks—this is something we don’t need the Office of Cannabis Management or Department of Finance and Taxation to come down and help us—and we could do this on a local level on a daily basis,” he said.
Like Middletown, most Orange County municipalities opted out of recreational cannabis retail and on-site consumption; four opted out of on-site consumption only: Port Jervis, Tuxedo, Warwick, and Wawayanda, according to the Office of Cannabis Management.
There are 145 legal cannabis dispensaries across the state; of the 15 or so in the Hudson Valley, two are located in Orange County: Curaleaf in Newburgh and Orange County Cannabis in Wawayanda.
