Ashley Southall

The lack of legal dispensaries and the overwhelming proliferation of illegal ones are the biggest concerns of the rollout three years after legalization.

With the legalization of marijuana in New York, celebrations of “4/20” have gone mainstream.

New York officials had said that those who jumped the line to cash in on cannabis would not be rewarded over those who played by the rules.

A New York State review of problems in the Office of Cannabis Management found that 90 percent of applicants for marijuana businesses failed to get licenses.

The city is flexing its new enforcement powers to close hundreds of unlicensed cannabis stores. Critics have likened some of the authorities’ tactics to those used during the war on drugs.

Plus, New York targets rogue smoke shops.

Can You Recognize an Unlicensed Cannabis Dispensary? - The New York Times

The city has appealed the judge’s ruling in favor of a convenience store in Queens that could have broader implications for enforcement.

Following the rules is expensive for dispensaries and their customers in New York.

The Department of Investigation is looking into whether Sheriff Anthony Miranda’s agency improperly took money from cannabis stores that it raided, closed and padlocked.