A law that New York City has relied on to padlock scores of suspected unlicensed marijuana shops is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of store owners, a judge ruled Tuesday. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration moved immediately to appeal, the Associated Press reports, saying the city had successfully shut down more than 1,200 illegal shops in a crackdown on the thousands of stores that opened without a license after the state legalized recreational use of the drug. The ruling was made in the case of a Queens business padlocked in September following an inspection by the sheriff’s office that found suspected cannabis and cannabis products for sale without a license, based on a measure passed earlier this year that gave local authorities the ability to inspect and immediately shut down suspected illegal stores while administrative hearings play out. The final decision remains with the sheriff’s office, meaning it can keep a store closed even if a hearing officer recommends otherwise.
Judge Kevin Kerrigan characterized the administrative hearings as “useless, or even a potential farce” in his ruling on Tuesday. “Indeed, if the final arbiter has the authority to confer no weight to the hearing, there is no real meaningful ‘opportunity to be heard,’ which vastly increases the risk of erroneous deprivation and raises a due process concern,” he wrote. Attorney Lance Lazzaro, who represents the Queens store, Cloud Corner, predicted the ruling would allow every store that has been shut down to reopen and sue for damages, including for lost business and reputational harm. “The damages will be astronomical,” said Lazzaro.