A law that New York City has relied on to padlock many suspected unlicensed marijuana stores is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of store owners, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration immediately appealed, saying the city had successfully closed more than 1,200 illegal stores. in a repression about the thousands of stores that opened without licenses after the state legalized recreational use of the drug.

The ruling came in the case of a Queens business padlocked in September following an inspection by the sheriff’s office that found cannabis and cannabis products were suspected of being sold without license.

New powers passed in state budget earlier this year gave local authorities the opportunity to inspect and immediately close stores suspected of being illegal while administrative hearings proceed. But the final decision rests with the sheriff’s office, meaning it can keep a store closed even if a hearing officer recommends otherwise.

That’s what happened in the Queens case — and many others, lawyers for the companies say, leading Judge Kevin Kerrigan in his ruling Tuesday to characterize the administrative hearings as “useless, even potential farce”.

“Indeed, if the final arbiter has the power to confer no weight on the hearing, there is no real ‘opportunity to be heard’, which significantly increases the risk of erroneous deprivation and raises a due process problem,” he wrote.

Adams spokeswoman Liz Garcia said the city’s legal department has filed a notice of appeal.

“Illegal smoke shops and their dangerous products endanger young New Yorkers and our quality of life, and we continue to padlock illicit storefronts and protect communities from the health and safety dangers posed by illegal operators ” she said in an emailed statement.

Attorney Lance Lazzaro predicted the ruling would allow every shuttered store to reopen and sue for damages, including loss of business and damage to reputation.

“The damage will be astronomical,” said Lazzaro, who represents the Cloud Corner store in Queens.

“New York City should be ashamed of itself for allowing this process to happen in the first place,” he said via email.

At an administrative hearing following its closure, Cloud Corner’s owner argued that the store was closed when the sheriff entered to conduct the inspection, so no cannabis products were being sold. The hearing officer agreed, but despite the dismissal of the summons, the sheriff’s office chose to keep the closure order in effect for a year.