NYC: Times Square Group Cracks Down On Weed Smoking After Too Many Olfactory Complaints

New York has some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the country. 

Now that anti-smoking sentiment in the Big Apple includes cannabis smoke, at least in some parts of the city.

Apparently, there have been so many complaints about the smell of marijuana smoke in Times Square that officials have installed a series of new signs reminding weed lovers that all smoking, including cannabis, is banned from the public plaza.

“Let’s Be Blunt: No Smoking in the Plazas” read multiple signs posted around the Times Square pedestrian areas, where smoking of any kind has been banned in accordance with the 2002 Smoke-Free Air Act. 

“The Times Square Alliance has increased signage throughout the pedestrian plazas to remind people of the many rules that apply to those spaces including the fact that smoking of any kind is prohibited,” said the organization per local press reports. 

After New York legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, the law was updated in 2022 and now, “prohibits smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes in most workplaces and public spaces. This applies to any substance, including cannabis, and includes areas near hospital entrances, in parks, beaches and pedestrian plazas.” 

Nevertheless, no-smoking laws regarding tobacco and cannabis consumption on the streets are now and have always been loosely enforced. 

The Smell Of Marijuana Smoke In NYC Is Nothing New

In a 2018 NY Times article by Ginia Bellafante titled ‘Marijuana: The Signature Olfactory Experience of New York,’ the author noted that it was “possible to smell pot smoke nearly all the time, on the street, in every neighborhood, no matter the hour of the day. It is unusual to walk five or six blocks anywhere in New York, without getting a blast…”

Even now with legalization, things haven’t changed much in the Big Apple though the Times Square Alliance is trying to put some order to the situation.

“We want all people to have a pleasant experience in our public spaces and got creative after receiving several complaints,” says the Alliance.

Photo by Andrae Ricketts on Unsplash