NEW YORK -- There are more calls to crack down on illegal smoke shops in New York City.Elected leaders say tougher legislation should be tied to the state budget in Albany.'The SMOKEOUT Act will give New York City the power to close down these illegal smoke shops. Currently, only the state of New York has the power to do that,' Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar said. 'The state budget is due in five days.
'SMOKEOUT' stands for 'Stop Marijuana Over-proliferation and Keep Empty Operators of Unlicensed Transactions.'In recent months, Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for a crackdown on illegal shops, saying they are hurting licensed marijuana dispensaries. The governor has said she wants to give local governments the power to padlock illegal shops and is asking websites like Google and Yelp to omit illegal shops from search results.