Illegal Weed Shop Functioning 90 Yards From NYC City Hall: Snub Nose At Authorities Much?

Despite the recent crackdown in a string of actions undertaken by NYC’s Mayor Eric Adams in his effort to shut down unlicensed weed shops and penalize landlords who own the buildings they operate in, one weed shop seems to be totally oblivious to the mayor’s threats.

Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemies Closer

The shop, Jungle Boys, is not only ignoring authorities but is doing so at extremely close range: 278 feet from City Hall, the seat of the New York City government.

“I’m aware we’re selling to them, City Hall people,” said Edward Nunez Lopez, a Jungle Boys employee, per the NY Post.

The densely packed downtown area, which is also close to Wall Street, does good business despite two police raids that apparently did little to deter Jungle Boys' shop owners and workers who got right back to work. 

“Everybody who’s in the building comes here. Everybody! People that don’t smoke – they do edibles. People that don’t do edibles – they do chocolates,” Lopez said. 

NYPD’s Limited Authority Over Illicit Weed And Smoke Shops

Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management told reporters over the past several months that in terms of state plans to enforce laws against illegal weed sales in NYC, the police have voiced concern about their ability to implement certain aspects of the law.

In a statement to the New York Post in November, the NYPD said the law, as currently written, “does not provide an enforcement mechanism when an unlicensed establishment displays cannabis for sale. The law only provides an enforcement mechanism if an actual sale is observed.”

Although a city-state task force comprised of city deputy sheriffs and staffers from other agencies raided Jungle Boys (not affiliated with LA-based Jungle Boys) in December and again in January did not stop the shop from functioning, it is facing fines and several criminal and civil summonses.

Where Are NYC's Legal Cannabis Shops?

Despite the recent opening of the only two legal recreational shops, Housing Works on Dec. 29 and Smacked on Jan. 24 with a third to open on Monday, there are an estimated 1400 illicit smoke shops in NYC alone, as legal shops roll out far too slowly to keep pace with the city's consumers.

Photo: NYC cannabis truck, courtesy of author