The city now has the power to fine individuals up to $30,000 for selling cannabis without a license — raising questions about smoke-shop enforcement and the “war on drugs.”

The Board of Alders unanimously approved an ordinance amendment to that effect on Monday evening.

The ordinance amendment, originally proposed in September by Amity/Westville/Beverly Hills Alder and Majority Leader Richard Furlow, follows enabling legislation passed on the state level in 2024.

The law allows the city to fine individuals who either directly sell cannabis without a license or “abet” the illicit sale of cannabis up to $30,000.

It also allows the city to issue fines of up to $10,000 to commercial landlords who “knowingly” lease a property used as the site of unlicensed or illegal cannabis sales.

According to the final version of the ordinance amendment, the fine would be issued by the city’s Economic Development Administrator “or designee.” Anyone facing a fine under the ordinance will have the right to challenge it before a municipal hearing officer.

Click here to read the now-approved legislation in full.

The new legislation comes at a time when city leaders have increasingly sought to crack down on smoke shops selling cannabis under the table. Police raids from the last couple of years have found that certain smoke shops were not only selling cannabis without a license, but were selling products far more potent than the legal limit in Connecticut. Several smoke shops found to have illicitly sold cannabis have shuttered in recent months, including one store that faced a $25,000 fine from the state for selling cannabis without a license.

All of this has taken place amid a debate over how the state should balance regulation with entrepreneurial freedom when it comes to cannabis — and what it means to truly reckon with the “war on drugs” that disproportionately incarcerated Black Americans.

The new $30,000 municipal fine could be imposed on both businesses and individual people who sell cannabis without a license, according to a letter from Furlow to the Board of Alders. City spokesperson Lenny Speiller cited the letter’s mention of “individuals and businesses” when asked to confirm whom the city now has the power to fine.

Kebra Smith-Bolden, the founder of a licensed cannabis business on East Street known as Lit New Haven, said in an interview that she believes the $30,000 fines make sense.

“I spent more than $30,000 doing it right,” she said. Unlicensed retailers create “a bit of an uneven playing field” by circumventing regulations that “businesses like mine spent years utilizing significant resources” to follow.

As a nurse, Smith-Bolden pointed out the health and safety hazards that can come with unregulated cannabis products. Products can be intentionally laced with undisclosed drugs, or they can unintentionally pose health risks by containing “too much vitamin E” or “mold.”

“I’m very conscientious and aware of what I would bring to my community,” Smith-Bolden said. “Anything that is not tested, not tracked from seed to sale, anything that is being sold in the communities where customers can’t be sure what they are purchasing, it creates an area of concern for me.”

She argued that any funds the city collects from the fine should go toward “education” and the “betterment of the community.”

“Definitely, a fine is better than prison and an arrest,” Smith-Bolden added.

James Jeter, a New Haven-based criminal justice reform advocate who co-founded and directs the Full Citizens Coalition, echoed Smith-Bolden’s observation about the high cost of obtaining a cannabis license — which led him to draw the opposite conclusion about the fines.

“I think it’s definitely a continuation on the war on drugs,” he said, “because you are targeting people who can’t afford to be licensed. Connecticut licensing isn’t poor people friendly. You have to have a lot of money.”

“What would your fine be for selling alcohol without a license?” asked Jeter.

He noted that “alcohol has proven to be far more addictive and has more fatal consequences every year” compared to cannabis, and argued that a disproportionate punishment for unlicensed cannabis sales reflects ongoing “racialized issues” in drug enforcement.

There’s no equivalent municipal fine for the unlicensed sale of alcohol. One recently shuttered New Haven nightclub faced state fines of $9,000 and $4,500 in 2024 and 2025 for selling alcohol to minors.