Five Smoke Shops Closed by Syracuse Division of Code Enforcement

The city’s Division of Code Enforcement closed five smoke shops where New York State investigators seized adult-use cannabis products without proper state licensing, announced Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

New York Exotic Smoke Shop at 123 Marshall Street; Escape Exotic Corporation at 167 Marshall Street, Northside Express LLC at 400 Wolf Street, Smoke City 420 LLC at 1105 N. Salina Street, and T’s Wireless at 401 S. Salina Street are the five locations impacted by the shut downs.

The stores face state violations for possession or sale of various amounts and types of cannabis products, including flowers, edibles, concentrate and pre-rolls without a license.

Investigators from the State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) completed inspections and seizures at the five locations during the past eight weeks.

“These stores posed a risk to public health and safety. They were flagrantly ignoring the State’s requirement to be licensed to sell adult-use cannabis products. Without following the licensing process, there is no way to know if the products at their stores were safe for human consumption,” said Walsh. “This should be a message to other stores operating illegally: it won’t be tolerated.”

"We are grateful for the partnership of the Syracuse Police Department in this effort to close these unlicensed cannabis shops and protect New York's licensed cannabis market,” said New York State OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander. “We look forward to continuing to work together with our partners in law enforcement to protect public health and safety."

City Code Enforcement officials closed and boarded up the Marshall Street locations on Thursday and the north side and downtown sites on Monday. They were issued unfit declarations for operating unlicensed retail locations under the New York State Property Maintenance Code.