Weed grew in Kew
Yet another 'illegal pot shop in Qns.
Kew Gardens is turning into Weed Gardens — with another unlicensed cannabis shop brazenly opening up in the tidy Queens neighborhood.
The illicit marijuana store, called “Pre Roll World,” launched its grand opening on Metropolitan Avenue over the weekend with lots of, um, buzz.
“I don’t understand it. They’re not licensed. The city is not doing anything about it,” said local activist Sylvia Hack, a member of Community Board 9.
The community board will discuss the proliferation of such illicit cannabis shops, which have been sprouting up along local commercial strips without fear of consequences, Hack said.
Dominick Pistone, president to the Kew Gardens Civic Association said, “At best, they’re jumping the gun. At worst, they’re illegal. How are they being allowed to operate? Why are they being allowed to operate?”
All ‘lit’ up
A Post reporter walked into the shop Sunday and bought a package of STIIIZY Edible “Cannabis-Infused Gummies” for $30. The store only accepted cash.
The shop — adorned outside with gold blown-up letters saying, “GRAND OPENING” — offered a cornucopia of cannabis pleasures. There were pre-rolled joints, various levels of flowered marijuana, vapes, oils and edibles.
Nearly all the products had a California label, claiming they were grown or manufactured there. Under New York’s “seed to sale” law, cannabis products sold here must be farmed and manufactured in the Empire State.
Workers claimed the firm that owns Pre-Roll World had applied for a state license.
The state recently awarded the first 36 licenses in New York to sell cannabis: 28 to retailers and 8 to nonprofit groups. None has yet opened, and their locations have not even been identified.
The Post also recently purchased products at two other unlicensed local cannabis shops: Triangle Dreams at 82-64 Austin St. and Lefferts Exotics at 81-27 Lefferts Blvd.
Critics say the roll-out of New York’s cannabis program is turning into a bad trip. One study released last week claimed there are “likely tens of thousands of illicit cannabis businesses” currently operating out of bodegas, smoke shops and other storefronts in New York City — with some selling bad or dangerously tainted weed.
Meanwhile, the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition said the first legal sellers have not been not adequately trained for the market.
The Post on Sunday reported that three of the nonprofits awarded state licenses to legally sell weed ironically offer substance-abuse services — or mandate sobriety for participants.
New York regulators have also come under fire after revelations surfaced that former NBA star Chris Webber, selected by the state to help raise $200 million in a public-private partnership for the emerging legal weed industry, has failed to raise any cash.
The Office of Cannabis Management has defended its roll-out.