Mayor Eric Adams has a flair for showmanship. The "Nightlife Mayor" has toyed with New York City political tropes before, such as crushing nuisance dirtbikes and ATVs ridden by urban youths. Today, he delved a bit deeper, giving some Central America drug war vibes.
Adams called a press event to tout the city's task force on marijuana to close 1,000 illegally-operating cannabis dispensaries. 4,000 lbs of product was allegedly burned during the press event.
Adams claims this represents a small amount of the 200,000 lbs. of cannabis products seized during the Office of Cannabis Management's efforts to rid the city of illegal shops. Today's presser celebrates the culmination of the initiative announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in March.
The burn wasn't a simple bonfire--which likely would have attracted all the Cheeches and Chongs, not to mention the EPA and wannabe-Greta Thunbergs in the five boroughs--but a highly filtered process managed by Reworld, an environmentally conscious waste management company.
The big burn is sure to garner approval among taxpayers who have watched sadly while Covid-shuttered small businesses have reopened all too often as dispensaries with gaudy signage and sketchy clientele.
Still, until Adams figures out a way to rein in rampant farebeating, traffic violations, and other quality of life crimes, his weed-whacking kudos will go up in smoke.
