The Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) cracked down on illegal weed smoke shops, including seizing products and arresting people in the wake of a widespread community backlash.
It’s not their first one.
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JCPD Smoke Shop Crackdown Results
According to the city, they shut down 5 establishments and seized 16 lbs. of “suspected marijuana”, 400,000 THC doses, and more than $9,000.
The crackdown resulted in 5 arrests, 26 summonses issued, large amounts of suspected illegal substances recovered, and the shutdown of 5 illegal smoke shops.
It’s following coordinated enforcement operations targeting the sale of underground legacy week or “unregulated marijuana.”
Some of the smoke shops also sold flavored vapes marketed to minors, according to the JCPD.
The raids were led by the JCPD Quality of Life Unit with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). They were recently executed following a weeks-long investigation prompted by repeated community complaints.
In addition, a lot of illegal THC weed and vape products were confiscated including:
- 106 illegal THC-flavored vape products.
- 8 illegal flavored vape products.
- 55 adulterated food items.
- 23 pouches of candy-style THC.
- 310 THC-infused gummy packages.
- 5 mushroom-infused bars.
- 14 jars of 10,000mg THC gummies.
Health officials estimate that the recovered gummies alone represent approximately 400,000 individual 10mg THC doses, a volume exceeding what would be reasonably expected for legal distribution and underscoring the scale of the illegal operation.
Cops Claim Victory
“This was a precision, multi-agency enforcement effort built on intelligence, community complaints, and strong investigative work,” said Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. “We are not only shutting down illegal operations. We are dismantling the networks behind them and holding bad actors accountable for their actions.”
Additionally, numerous CDS distribution-related paraphernalia items were also recovered during the searches.
Twenty-six court summonses were issued for unlicensed smoke shop operations, illegal sales of flavored vape products, adulterated food products, unauthorized cannabis establishment activity, prohibited window coverage, and maintaining a nuisance.
“This joint operation sends a clear message that unregulated smoke shops selling illicit and potentially dangerous products will not be tolerated,” said DEA NJ Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. “These businesses often operate outside the law. Putting unknown substances into our communities. We will continue to work with our partners to shut down these illegal operations.”
Jersey City Weed Smoke Shops Shut Down
Five establishments were shut down due to the operation:
- Paper & Grabba Tobacco, 164.5 Martin Luther King Drive
- Da Spot Smoke Shop, 92 Martin Luther King Drive
- Highline Premium, 40 Martin Luther King Drive
- All Stars Smoke Shop, 152 Danforth Avenue
- Duncan Smokes, 180 Duncan Avenue
Day-of operations and the execution of warrants included assistance from many agencies. They include the JCPD Street Crimes Unit, South and West District Patrol Units, Emergency Service Unit, Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, Office of Code Compliance, Department of Health & Human Services, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and Hudson County Consumer Affairs.
The Jersey City Health, Fire, and Code Compliance Departments, along with the Hudson County Consumer Protection Unit and the Department of Weights and Measures, issued additional violations across all 5 locations.
The investigation remains active, with additional enforcement actions possible.
NJ Smoke Shop Crackdown
This seems to be part of a broader effort to crack down on shady infused hemp across New Jersey.
There was recently a weed smoke shop bust in Paterson as well.
Such a crackdown will likely be applauded by some legal cannabis dispensary owners which will outrage libertarians and pro-underground legacy people in the overall NJ weed community.
Conservatives in Hudson and elsewhere in Jersey also continue to hate dispensaries and think of the smell of cannabis as a terrible odor, versus a delightful fragrance. They often blame dispensaries as well for the perceived increase.
