These 5 N.J. smoke shops were just ordered to shut down in city’s cannabis crackdown

Licensed cannabis retailers in Jersey City have long lobbied city leaders to rein in unlicensed smoke shops that they say are siphoning off customers, skirting costly regulations and undermining the state’s legal cannabis market.

This month, municipal authorities responded by strengthening controls.

Jersey City authorities issued 26 summonses and made five arrests during sweeps involving Jersey City police and federal partners, local officials said.

Five establishments were ordered to cease their activities:

• Tabac Paper & Grabba, 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.

Municipal health, fire and code compliance departments, as well as Hudson County consumer protection officials, committed additional violations.

Investigators recovered nearly 16 pounds of suspected cannabis, including more than 600 plastic bags, and about $9,000 believed to have come from unregulated sales, local authorities said.

They also recovered THC-flavored vaping products, candy-like THC items, hundreds of packages of THC-infused gummies, mushroom-infused bars and jars labeled with high THC content, investigators said.

Health authorities estimate that the recovered candies alone represent approximately 400,000 individual doses of 10 milligrams of THC.

Since New Jersey legalized cannabis in 2021, licensed retailers have alleged that some unregulated smoke shops are selling illegal weed or hemp-derived alternatives, including Delta-8.

Licensed cannabis businesses face high application fees, zoning hurdles and rising rents tied to cannabis permits, operators say. They must also pay national and municipal taxes.

Some smoke shops selling weed illegally have opened their doors right across the street from licensed dispensaries, retailers say. They can often attract customers with cheaper products and a lack of compliance with the rules.

Jersey City, which previously positioned itself as one of the state’s cannabis hubs, initially set no cap on the number of cannabis licenses it would issue. Many potential owners flocked to the city.

Jersey City Mayor James Solomon, who took office earlier this year, announced increased oversight as part of a broader effort to address neighborhood concerns.

Acting Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said police worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration following a weeks-long investigation sparked by repeated complaints from the community.

“The coordinated work conducted by the Jersey City Police Department reflects our responsibility to address residents’ concerns and enforce applicable regulations,” Ambrose said in a statement.

Summons were issued for violations including operating without proper licensing, selling prohibited flavored vaping products, offering adulterated food products, operating an unauthorized cannabis establishment, not covering windows and maintaining a nuisance, officials said.

New Jersey DEA Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James said the agency supports local efforts to combat unregulated sales.

“These actions reflect continued coordination with local partners to reduce the availability of unregulated products,” Thorne-James said.

Officials said the investigation is still ongoing.

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