The Empire State is going to use illegal cannabis to make renewable energy. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the plan as he unveiled the seizure of 4 tons of illegal marijuana products by local authorities. The confiscated cannabis is now set to be incinerated and converted into clean power in a move that the mayor emphasized was strictly for energy production.
“No one will be getting high off of what we’re burning today,” Adams assured the public. “Trust me.”
The event took place at a waste-to-energy facility just outside the city. Adams personally used a crane to transfer the cannabis into an incinerator. The heat generated from burning the marijuana, along with other waste materials, will be converted into energy. It will contribute to the power supply for approximately 65,000 homes on Long Island.
Officials explained they chose this method of incineration to prevent attempts at recovering the cannabis from landfills or other waste disposal sites.
“You just really open the door for people going to the landfills and trying to salvage whatever they can,” Adams said. “The goal is the destruction of the product, and not to just dump it somewhere and allow it to sit around.”
Adams noted that an additional 200,000 pounds of illegal cannabis remain on the streets of New York City. He also said his administration remained committed to ensuring its eventual destruction.
