Hochul wants to sharply boost fines on illegal NYC weed shops that refuse inspection

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently unveiled her latest weapon against illegal pot peddlers — who have only managed to grow even more in numbers since last year, according to city officials.

Illicit cannabis business owners who refuse to allow New York state regulators to inspect their shady shops would get slapped with much steeper fines under the new legislation proposed by the governor.

The regulators, who are from the Office of Cannabis Management and don’t carry guns, have been refused entry by some merchants selling marijuana without a license, sources said.

While the state recently passed a law to help authorities shut down illegal shops, the proposed stiffer fines are designed to put the squeeze on their owners in the meantime.

“People are going to test the process,” New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda recently told The Post. “Fines can’t be the cost of doing business. Fines have to have a tremendous impact on operations.”

The fines for scofflaws would quintuple — from the current $4,000 to $20,000 for a first refusal and $8,000 to $40,000 for subsequent balking — under Hochul’s proposed law.