Five Syracuse cannabis stores are shut down for not having “proper state licensing”

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The City of Syracuse has closed down five smoke shops where New York State investigators seized adult-use cannabis products “without proper state licensing.”

The city’s division of code enforcement shut down New York Exotic Smoke Shop at 123 Marshall St.; Escape Exotic Corporation at 167 Marshall St.; Northside Express LLC at 400 Wolf St.; Smoke City 420 LLC at 1105 N. Salina St.; and T’s Wireless at 401 S. Salina St., the office of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said on Tuesday.

Investigators from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) completed inspections and seizures at the five locations during the past eight weeks, Walsh’s office said. The stores face state violations for possession or sale of various amounts and types of cannabis products, including flowers, edibles, concentrate, and pre-rolls “without a license.”

“These stores posed a risk to public health and safety. They were flagrantly ignoring the State’s requirement to be licensed to sell adult use cannabis products. Without following the licensure process there is no way to know if the products at their stores were safe for human consumption,” Walsh said. “This should be a message to other stores operating illegally: it won’t be tolerated. I thank Governor Hochul, the Department of Taxation and Finance and OCM for their cooperation.”

“We are grateful for the partnership of the Syracuse Police Department in this effort to close these unlicensed cannabis shops and protect New York’s licensed cannabis market,” Chris Alexander, executive director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, said in the city’s news release. “We look forward to continuing to work together with our partners in law enforcement to protect public health and safety.”

City Code Enforcement officials closed and boarded up the Marshall Street locations last Thursday and the north side and downtown sites on Monday. They were issued unfit declarations for operating unlicensed retail locations under the New York State Property Maintenance Code, Walsh’s office said.