Revoke Tobacco Licenses for Illegal Cannabis Sales
Enacted on Oct 26, 2026
Signed into Law
Local Law 2026/152
✦ Plain-Language Summary
This bill allows the city to suspend or revoke tobacco store licenses if the store illegally sells cannabis products without proper state permits. The city must also educate tobacco retailers about these new rules that could cost them their license.
The story behind this bill
Why it was introduced
After New York State legalized recreational cannabis in 2021, many smoke shops began selling cannabis products illegally alongside tobacco and e-cigarettes. Despite raids and enforcement sweeps, unlicensed sales continued; in 2025 alone, officials seized about 3,787 pounds of unlicensed cannabis product worth $20.3 million. The sponsor said this undermines the legal cannabis market and lets bad actors use tobacco or e-cigarette licenses as cover.
At the hearings
Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection · 2026-06-17
Licensed cannabis retailers, a cannabis trade group leader, and members of the public testified almost entirely in support, describing competition from illegal shops using tobacco, vape, or hemp licenses as cover. Several urged expanding the bill to cover e-cigarette and hemp licenses.
In support
- Licensed cannabis dispensary owners (Paul Dorestant, Vanessa Yee-Chan, Fernando Lendof, Roland and Patricia Connor): Illegal shops undercut licensed businesses that pay taxes and follow strict rules; bill adds accountability.
- Mar Fitzgerald, cannabis community member: Illegal shops use tobacco, vape, or hemp licenses as cover, risking youth exposure to cannabis-like products.
- Coss Marte, Cannabis Retail Association of New York: Unfair for unlicensed sellers to skip the long, costly licensing process legal operators went through.
- Christopher Leon Johnson, resident: Supports the bill as needed, though framed his support around unrelated claims about crime and politics.
Raised concerns
- Mar Fitzgerald and Vanessa Yee-Chan, cannabis retailers: Bill should also cover e-cigarette and hemp/CBD retail licenses, not just tobacco licenses.
- Paul Dorestant and Mar Fitzgerald: Landlords who knowingly allow illegal sales after a shutdown should also face accountability.
City agencies: The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection testified earlier that day on the bill package, but the transcript of its testimony specific to Int. 813 is not included in the record provided.
“If a business holds a city-issued license, whether for tobacco, e-cigs, or hemp license, it should not be able to use that license as cover while selling illegal cannabis.”
“And this illegal market undermines all the efforts we have to support the legal market.”
“We did see a marked– a situation where they actually did do enforcement, and we actually saw our sales go up the same day they did it.”
Show 1 more hearing
Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection · 2026-09-09
A brief committee vote meeting was held on the amended bill, Proposed Intro 813-A. The chair summarized the bill's purpose and cited 2025 seizure statistics, and the committee approved it without further debate.
In support
- Council Member Epstein (sponsor): Bill gives DCWP tools to shut down illegal cannabis sales by tobacco and e-cigarette license holders, protecting the legal market.
“2025 alone, over almost 4,000 pounds of unlicensed products were seized, worth over $20 million.”
How it turned out
The amended bill, Proposed Intro 813-A, passed the committee 8-0 on September 9, 2026, and the full Council approved it 50-1 (with one member absent for bereavement) on September 10, 2026. It was sent to the Mayor, who returned it unsigned on October 13, 2026; under City Charter rules the bill became law without the Mayor's signature on October 10, 2026.
What changed along the way
- Added electronic cigarette retail dealer licenses, not just tobacco licenses, as subject to suspension or revocation.
- Expanded qualifying violations to include indirect retail sale of cannabis, regardless of whether a license was obtained.
- Added violations of cannabis law enforced by the Sheriff's Office as grounds for license action.
- Added a cross-reference making the same grounds apply to a separate licensing section (20-562).
- Outreach requirement was expanded to require materials in English and other designated citywide languages.
What the record doesn’t say
- The documents do not explain why the Mayor returned the bill unsigned rather than signing or vetoing it, or state any reasons the administration gave for that choice.
- The record does not include DCWP's specific testimony or position on Int. 813 from the June 17, 2026 hearing, though the committee report notes the agency testified that day on the bill package generally.
- The documents do not explain why 3 committee members were marked absent for the September 9, 2026 committee vote.
Sources
- Memorandum in Support
- Committee Report 6/17/26
- Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council
- Proposed Int. No. 813-A Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council
- Committee Report 9/9/26
- Hearing Transcript 6/17/26 (Int 813-A)
- Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 9-10-26
- Hearing Transcript 9/9/26
Written by AI from official Council records. Votes and status come from the record; quotes are checked word for word against the official hearing transcripts.
Details
- Introduced
- Apr 16, 2026
- Passed Council
- Oct 10, 2026
- Enacted
- Oct 10, 2026
- Body
- Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection
- Type
- Introduction
- Status
- Enacted
Sponsors (1)
Official Description
This bill would allow the Commissioner of Consumer and Worker Protection to refuse to renew, suspend, or revoke a tobacco retailer dealer license or an electronic cigarette retail dealer license upon a finding that the holder of such license violated subdivision 1 or 1-a of section 125 of the Cannabis Law through the sale of cannabis without the appropriate license, or through the indirect retail sale of cannabis irrespective of whether a license had been obtained. This bill would also require the Commissioner of Consumer and Worker Protection to conduct an education and outreach campaign to inform affected licensees of the new grounds added by this local law for refusal to renew, suspension, or revocation of a license.