New York State Should Investigate Google, Meta, and Others for Allowing Illegal Marijuana Shops to Thrive: Owners

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by carl campanile

Owners of legal marijuana stores in New York are under investigation for allowing social media companies and tech giants to promote unlicensed competition.

It’s time for Gov. Cathy Hochul to intervene and consider lawsuits against Google, Meta Inc. and others for allegedly engaging in “false advertising” by unlicensed marijuana stores, some legal dispensary owners told The Post. Told.

“It would be disingenuous for them to say they don’t know what’s going on,” said Osbert Orduna, owner of delivery service Cannabis Place. “They track every click made on the site.”

Jason Tantalo, co-founder and vice president of operations for the New York Cannabis Retail Association, said he and Orduna are gathering signatures on a letter asking Hochul, whose role oversees the state’s cannabis control agency, to formally intervene. Ta.

“If they are not licensed to sell cannabis, they should not have the right to advertise or sell their services on Tik Tok, Yahoo, or Google,” Tantalo said.

The draft letter accuses the companies of “collusion” and says they may be violating state law.

“These companies must be held accountable for enabling illegal cannabis activity and failing to uphold the standards necessary to protect New York consumers and comply with the law,” the letter states. ing.

There are currently 75 licensed marijuana dispensaries across New York state, but Mayor Eric Adams and Sheriff Anthony Miranda estimate there are as many as 2,000 smoke shops selling marijuana illegally in New York City alone. There is.

Many illegal cannabis stores operate with virtual impunity.

Few stores are padlocked, and only $22,500 of the $25 million in fines imposed by state regulators on unlicensed stores has been collected amid bureaucratic inertia and a lengthy appeals process. is. Hochul is proposing a new bill that would make it easier to shut down illegal stores.

A quick search for “cannabis dispensaries near me” on Google or Google Maps will bring up a number of unlicensed cannabis stores selling products with listed reviews, but there are many illegal and licensed cannabis stores. You can hardly tell the stores apart. The site includes a specific address, phone number, and some links to his website.

Yelp also features reviews of unlicensed stores, but sites like Meta’s Instagram allow illegal stores to advertise their products, licensed owners said.

The letter states that licensed businesses are highly regulated by the state and that all cannabis products are tested to strict standards to protect public health and safety.

“The unchecked presence of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries on popular social media platforms not only undermines the integrity of regulated markets, but also poses significant risks to public health and safety…Consumers “This could expose people to untested and unsafe products, while also depriving states of much-needed tax revenue,” they said.

Industry representatives noted that social media companies often point to Section 230 of the Federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which provides disclaimers for content posted by third parties on their platforms.

But they argued that the governor and Attorney General Letitia James could sue the social media giants under the New York State General Commercial Code, which prohibits “deceptive” conduct toward consumers.

Additionally, it argues that licensed cannabis operators should be allowed to bring their own lawsuits against social media to “recover actual damages” for harm caused to their businesses. ing.

Hochul and OCM were not immediately available for comment.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the Post’s inquiry and said the company would look into the matter.

“We prohibit content that promotes the sale and purchase of drugs, including marijuana, both in ads and organically on the page, and we remove it as soon as we see it,” Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels said in a post. he told the paper in a statement.

The Post also reached out to Yelp for comment.