Legalization in New York was supposed to bring thousands of new jobs and create tax revenues to fund education and reinvestment in communities harmed by enforcement against marijuana.
But the effort has been severely undercut by unlicensed retailers who depend on customers not knowing or caring about the difference.
Here are five things consumers can look for.
This sticker’s missing.
Some unlicensed stores mimic the more mature look and feel of legal dispensaries. You can tell them apart by looking for this sticker at the entrance. It contains a QR code that links to the state’s official list of licensed shops.
Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
There’s snacks, booze and hookah.
If you can get snacks, alcohol or tobacco with your weed, you’re in an unlicensed shop. Those shops may have edibles that look like candy you’d find in a grade-school vending machine and have more than 10 milligrams of THC per serving.
Laila Stevens for The New York Times
Mickey Mouse is stoned.
Images of cannabis use, like stoned cartoon characters, are popular with smoke shops. But such images are prohibited at licensed dispensaries, which also do not allow cannabis products to be visible from the outside.
Brittainy Newman for The New York Times
The bud’s loose.
If a dispensary weighs and packages loose bud to sell, that’s prohibited and unsanitary. All legal products ship to licensed dispensaries prepackaged. Look for a New York stamp on labels accompanied by a QR code.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Apple Pay is accepted.
If you can check out with a credit card or Apple Pay, the dispensary isn’t licensed. Major credit card companies and mobile payment services don’t allow cannabis sales, which are illegal under federal law. Licensed shops accept cash or debit.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
H/T: www.nytimes.com
You can view the whole article at this link Can You Recognize an Unlicensed Cannabis Dispensary?
