Yonkers police crack down on smoke shops selling marijuana without license

Ever since recreational use of marijuana was made legal in New York state, smoke shops have been cashing in. 

In Yonkers, cannabis, vapes and THC products are all being sold without a legal license to sell the products in New York state. 

"It's become like the Wild West," said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. 

The City of Yonkers smoke shop task force along with Yonkers police confiscated more than $30,000 worth of illegal smoke products since September. That resulted in the closure of seven smoke shops across Yonkers. 

"Many still choose to disobey the law. Our officers have encountered marijuana in plain sight or located in hidden rooms. We need to be able to do more" said Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza. 

RELATED: New York doubles number of retail marijuana licenses to 300

The crackdown comes as local emergency rooms in parts of the Hudson Valley or seeing more and more teens getting sick from eating gummies or vaping too much. 

FILE - Image inside smoke shop with cannabis and cannabis product. (FOX 5 New York)

City of Yonkers officials say that of the seven smoke shops they have shut down, three have reopened and 4 remain closed. 

Mayor Spano has introduced legislation that would hold business owners accountable for selling illegal marijuana. 

Any business owner with more than six offenses in a year would be shut down by police and fined. A public hearing on that bill will be held on March 21.