Bronx DA urges lawmakers to tighten cannabis and retail theft laws to protect small businesses

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and local leaders in business are calling on elected officials to reassess how cannabis offenses and retail theft are prosecuted, warning that current laws fail to protect Bronx communities.

In a Dec. 6 letter from the DA and 12 local Business Improvement District (BID) leaders to elected officials, Clark argued that existing laws are too lenient, enabling crimes that harm small businesses.

Clark argued that Bronx small businesses are fighting a losing battle against types of crime that pose a serious threat to their livelihood. The current laws “do not provide adequate protection for our community,” she said in the letter. The Bronx Times reached out to the Assembly leader and is awaiting a response.

When it comes to cannabis, Clark said the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act of 2021 — aimed at reducing mass incarceration that has disproportionately affected Black and brown people — left a loophole that “[makes] it virtually impossible to prosecute any illegal cannabis possession and sale.”

The loophole comes from the current law’s use of “pure weight” instead of “aggregate weight” in measuring cannabis.

“Aggregate weight” includes the entire amount of cannabis seized by authorities, which could include fillers, as explained by a DA spokesperson. “Pure weight,” which is more difficult to quantify, only measures the amount that contains the high-inducing chemical THC. For instance, a bag of cannabis that includes stems and seeds would combine for the “aggregate weight.”

Amid Bronx officials’ efforts to clamp down on illegal smoke shops, prosecuting under the current “pure weight” standard has let too many illegal cannabis dealers off the hook, in Clark’s view. She pointed to two Brooklyn cases dismissed because of the difference in standard and said she anticipates that the same will happen in the Bronx. Current laws may need to be tweaked to ensure that cannabis seized from unlicensed shops can be prosecuted, she said.

‘Collateral consequences’

Clark said retail theft is another “significant problem” because too many offenders are released and go on to commit more crimes.

While 2020 reforms to bail and discovery laws were well-intended at righting some past wrongs in the criminal justice system, some had “collateral consequences,” said Clark.

Pedro Suarez, director of the Third Avenue Business Improvement District, said the letter stemmed from a meeting last month between the BIDs, NYPD and DA in which there was general consensus that some laws “went too far in one direction,” causing too many repeat offenders to be let off the hook.

Suarez said he understood “you can’t arrest your way out of every problem” but said that more accountability and deterrence measures are needed, from the legislative side as well as working to invest in neighborhoods and provide services on the ground.

“Whether it’s the result of judges choosing not to set bail for offenses that involve harm to property, or because of the timeline and volume of discovery, retail theft is still a real problem,” said Clark.

The DA’s letter said that hardworking local entrepreneurs are unfairly threatened by these issues and that she looks forward to discussing possible changes to the laws.

“These business owners pay high rents, work long hours, and struggle to remain economically viable due in large part to illegal activities in surrounding areas,” said Clark.

This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. to correctly identify the recipients and senders of the letter and on Dec. 16 at 2:50 p.m. to include comment from Suarez.

Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes