Caption Mayor Adams

Weeding out the unregistered smoke shops

  

QNS

A new bill sponsored by Queens Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar aims to shut down smoke shops that are illegally selling cannabis in New York City.

Rajkumar’s bill, called the SMOKEOUT Act (A8428), was introduced in Albany last week, and would grant local municipalities the power to close smoke shops caught illegally selling cannabis. Currently, the industry is primarily policed on a state level and enforcement has been limited.

The bill aims to address the public’s concern about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops, which have emerged since cannabis use was legalized in 2021.

“My legislation puts the power back in the hands of the people and municipalities, so that we can stop the sale of unlicensed cannabis that is endangering our children and our neighborhoods,” Rajkumar said.

Rajkumar, a longtime proponent of Mayor Eric Adams, says the bill would provide the Adams administration with the ability to promptly shut down illegal smoke shops in the city. Adams, who supports the bill, said the city would take swift action following Albany’s approval.

Currently, the State Cannabis Control Board, the approval and oversight body of the Office of Cannabis Management, operates as the only state entity responsible for shutting down the thousands of illegal smoke shops in operation.

Rajkumar unveiled her new legislation during a Mayoral town hall in December. Adams, who was in attendance, acknowledged that there was a lack of enforcement, noting that OCM doesn’t have the personnel to get on top of the problem.

Currently, many shops are being issued with fines, but are rarely shut down.

“Right now, the State has the enforcement power and the State does not have the manpower to do the enforcement. And so many of these places are opening and they’re laughing at the fines,” said Adams during the town hall last year. “It’s the price of doing business. They’re making so much money that they’re just opening and continuing to sell to our children.”

A new bill sponsored by Queens Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar aims to shut down smoke shops that are illegally selling cannabis in New York City.

Rajkumar’s bill, called the SMOKEOUT Act (A8428), was introduced in Albany last week, and would grant local municipalities the power to close smoke shops caught illegally selling cannabis. Currently, the industry is primarily policed on a state level and enforcement has been limited.

The bill aims to address the public’s concern about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops, which have emerged since cannabis use was legalized in 2021.

“My legislation puts the power back in the hands of the people and municipalities, so that we can stop the sale of unlicensed cannabis that is endangering our children and our neighborhoods,” Rajkumar said.

Rajkumar, a longtime proponent of Mayor Eric Adams, says the bill would provide the Adams administration with the ability to promptly shut down illegal smoke shops in the city. Adams, who supports the bill, said the city would take swift action following Albany’s approval.

Currently, the State Cannabis Control Board, the approval and oversight body of the Office of Cannabis Management, operates as the only state entity responsible for shutting down the thousands of illegal smoke shops in operation.

Rajkumar unveiled her new legislation during a Mayoral town hall in December. Adams, who was in attendance, acknowledged that there was a lack of enforcement, noting that OCM doesn’t have the personnel to get on top of the problem.

Currently, many shops are being issued with fines, but are rarely shut down.

“Right now, the State has the enforcement power and the State does not have the manpower to do the enforcement. And so many of these places are opening and they’re laughing at the fines,” said Adams during the town hall last year. “It’s the price of doing business. They’re making so much money that they’re just opening and continuing to sell to our children.”

Nabes not so high on weed shops

 

Queens Chronicle

Last Thursday, the Office of Cannabis Management announced that New York State had begun accepting applications for the first recreational cannabis dispensary licenses.

The first legal adult-use retail dispensaries will be run by those impacted by the prohibition of cannabis. Qualifying business applicants must have a conviction for a marijuana-related offense or have a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse or dependent with one in New York.

One Ozone Park man has already submitted one application and is working on a second, with hopes of eventually opening a dispensary in Queens.

“My business partner and I are both justice-involved and we both meet the criteria,” said Jeremy Rivera, a 38-year-old from Ozone Park.

“Kush Culture is me 51 percent, him 49 and then Gourmet Buds is him 51 percent me 49,” he told the Chronicle this week.

Rivera spent eight years in prison for nonviolent crimes, two of which were drug-related.

Now, he owns a construction-consulting company where he teaches OSHA and city buildings regulations and audits job sites for construction-safety compliance.

“I am and always have been ambitious. Even when I was in the streets and I was dealing drugs, I was very ambitious.”

His business experience helps him check off the box from the state that requires applicants have experience owning and operating a “qualifying” business that has been profitable for at least two years.

His business partner owns a deli in Lindenhurst, LI.

Although Rivera is a Queens guy through and through, he is not sure he will be able to open the dispensary here.

“I’m not getting really good responses from the communities in Queens,” he said.

“I’d love to open a dispensary here, but I don’t know. It seems like I’m getting a lot of conservative views on this.”

He specifically wanted to open up a shop in Ozone Park but was told by community leaders that it might not be “the right place.”

New York finally reaches higher ground

Times Union 

 State leaders have finalized a deal to legalize recreational marijuana, with long-awaited legislation laying out the details appearing Saturday night. Lawmakers had previously said the bill could be voted on as soon as this week.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced the agreement, which will establish a new state Office of Cannabis Management to oversee a regulatory system for medical and adult-use marijuana as well as cannabinoid hemp. Producers, distributors, retailers, and other actors in the cannabis market will be licensed according to the system laid out in the bill, and a "social and economic equity program" will assist "individuals disproportionately impacted by cannabis enforcement that want to participate in the industry," according to a release from the governor's office.

The cannabis industry is projected to deliver $350 million annually in tax revenues and 30,000 to 60,000 new jobs statewide, the release said.

Dubbed the New York State Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act, the bill will create the Office of Cannabis Management, which will be governed by a five-member board — three members appointed by the governor and one appointment by each legislative house. OCM will be "an independent office operating as part of the New York State Liquor Authority," the release said.

The agreement would allow people with a larger list of medical conditions to access medical marijuana, increase the number of caregivers allowed per patient, and permit home cultivation of medical cannabis for patients.

Licensed growers and processors would be barred from also owning retail stores. Under the social and economic equity program, a goal of 50 percent of licenses would go to a minority- or woman-owned business enterprise or distressed farmers or service-disabled veterans.

New Jersey frees the weed

 

 

 PIX News

  In the face of a budget crisis, New Jersey residents voted to legalize marijuana, which could be a huge source of revenue for a state still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Phil Murphy had pledged to legalize marijuana when he ran for election. He said the hundreds of millions in estimated tax revenue would go toward the state’s public pension payments and school aid.

New Jersey State Sen. Nick Scutari said he would introduce a bill to regulate the new industry as early as Thursday.

"Just because it passes today or tomorrow doesn’t mean it’s legal today or tomorrow," Scutari said.

Currently, New Jersey spends about $143 million per year on marijuana enforcement, according to a 2017 report by the American Civil Liberties Union.

There had been efforts to legalize recreational usage through the state legislature, but it was ultimately added to November’s ballot instead.

All sales of marijuana products would be subject to New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax. Towns can pass ordinances to charge local taxes as well.

 

 

Queens leads all boroughs in marijuana arrests

 


Queens Eagle

Queens leads the five boroughs in low-level marijuana possession cases — misdemeanor charges that have drastically decreased in volume under new NYPD protocols but are still marked by stunning racial disparities.

The number of unlawful, fourth- and fifth-degree marijuana possession cases have dropped significantly in Queens this year, but the borough accounts for more low-level weed prosecutions than Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island combined, according to client data compiled by The Legal Aid Society, which represents about half the indigent defendants in New York City.

And while low-level marijuana arrests have decreased by more than 88 percent citywide, racial disparities in who gets busted for weed possession have actually gotten worse.

In fact, nearly every single person busted for low-level weed possession in New York City was Black or Latinx during the first three months of this year, according to data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which was provided by the NYPD.  Of the 476 people arrested for fifth-degree marijuana possession citywide, just 20 were white, according to the data set. The other 456 people arrested — more than 95 percent — were people of color.

People of color accounted for 93 percent of the 4,081 people arrested for fifth-degree marijuana possession during the first three months of 2018. Fifth-degree marijuana possession includes smoking in public or possessing more than 25 grams of marijuana.

“Even though arrests are down, the racial disparities are increasing. And they’re meaningful. You can see who they are targeting for sale and possession,” said Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, which obtained and shared the data from the state.

Lots of new taxes being considered to save MTA

From NBC:

A state panel is advising Governor Andrew Cuomo to consider a bundle of new taxes after revelations that the price for fixing the beleaguered Metropolitan Transportation Authority has doubled.

As it turns out, officials say a controversial plan for congestion pricing won’t raise enough money to cover the difference.

The task of finding solutions for raising the dough has been left to a city-state sustainability task force. Sources tell CBS2 that in addition to congestion pricing, the task force is exploring other options including:

- raising the payroll tax
- increasing the real estate transfer tax on sales of property over $5 million
- ending the sales tax exemption on clothing purchases under $110

Mitchell Moss, head of the Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University, has other suggestions including raising the gas tax.

“We should be using the gas tax and other broad-based revenues,” Moss said. “We might even want to consider getting revenue from cannabis to be earmarked for riders.”

A marijuana tax is a real possibility if pot is legalized in New York, sources say. Other revenue streams could come from new taxes on casinos and sports betting.

BQE bums

From the Queens Chronicle:

Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) is looking to improve the situation at an underpass by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Jackson Heights, saying it’s become a hangout for vagrants.

“They’re lighting fires,” Moya said. “They’re smoking marijuana, drinking. It creates a very unsafe area for the residents who are living there.”

The lawmaker personally visited the underpass, by 35th Avenue and 69th Street, after a constituent emailed his office about the problem. They were joined by a community affairs officer from the 115th Precinct.

In addition to homeless people sleeping and loitering there, Moya said the underpass is “very dark, even during the daytime.”

The assemblyman has requested the NYPD temporarily place floodlights at the site and increase patrols in the area.

He’s also looking for the homeless people there to be brought to proper housing and get the services they need.

That's a lot of pot!

From Eyewitness News:

Six men have been arrested for possessing more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana.

Members of the DEA's New York Drug Enforcement Task Force discovered them transferring cardboard cartons containing the drug from a tractor trailer parked in Elmhurst, Queens, to two smaller vehicles early Monday morning.

In addition, it is alleged that the suspects possessed between $200,000 and $300,000 in United States currency.

Weiyang Yao, 47, of Cucamonga, California, Yuejiang Zeng, 53, of San Gabriel, California, Shan Wu Zhang, 30, of British Columbia, Canada, and Duanzhao Zhang, 38, Tong Shun Zhang, 29, and Tong Zhew Zhang, 24, all of Brooklyn will appear in Queens Criminal Court Tuesday

They will each be charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. If convicted, the defendants each face up to five and a half years in prison.

Big drug & fraud bust in southeastern Queens

From the Queens Courier:

Authorities charged 17 people connected to a major credit and debit card fraud ring based in Queens following a year-long investigation, prosecutors announced on Thursday.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the suspects used the stolen credit and debit card account information to make purchases at department stores and other establishments in New York City, Long Island and Rockland County between December 2014 and May 2015. Police allege that several of the suspects were active gang members.

During its investigation and ensuring court-authorized searches, police reportedly recovered card readers, embossers and other equipment used for credit and debit card forgery along with more than $11,000 in cash, three vehicles, a loaded .40-caliber Glock firearm, 41 marijuana plants, two 5-gallon containers full of marijuana and high-intensity lights known to be used for growing pot indoors.

Some of the establishments targeted by the ring include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s stores in Flushing, Douglaston and the Queens Center mall, W&H Liquors in Hollis, Target stores in Nanuet and Long Island, a Pathmark supermarket in New Hyde Park, and Waldbaums supermarket in College Point.

Dope who threatened cops arrested

From WPIX:

A man who allegedly made threats to kill police officers was stopped in his tracks Wednesday, officials said.

Elvin Payamps, 38, was allegedly on his cell phone at TD Bank on 79-55 Metropolitan Avenue when a male witness overheard him having a conversation about killing cops and having firearms at his house.

The witness notified police who reported to the bank after Payamps left. They transmitted a description of the man over the department radio, and then canvassed the area for him.

During the search, a man fitting the description of Payamps was found entering a vehicle at 66-26 Metropolitan Avenue.

Uniformed officers in a marked patrol car followed him. After a short distance, they conducted a car stop at Metropolitan Avenue and Rentar Plaza. During the stop, they found a small bag of marijuana in plain view in the front seat of the vehicle.

Police identified the man as Payamps, arrested him and brought him to the 104th Precinct in Queens for further investigation.

They went to his home on Edsall Avenue and obtained verbal and written consent from his spouse to search the home.

Police uncovered two firearms, two bullet proof bests, brass knuckles and a holster. Payamps has since been charged with three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cuomo to legalize medical marijuana

From the NY Times:

Joining a growing group of states that have loosened restrictions on marijuana, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York plans this week to announce an executive action that would allow limited use of the drug by those with serious illnesses, state officials say.

The shift by Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who had long resisted legalizing medical marijuana, comes as other states are taking increasingly liberal positions on it — most notably Colorado, where thousands have flocked to buy the drug for recreational use since it became legal on Jan. 1.

Mr. Cuomo’s plan will be far more restrictive than the laws in Colorado or California, where medical marijuana is available to people with conditions as mild as backaches. It will allow just 20 hospitals across the state to prescribe marijuana to patients with cancer, glaucoma or other diseases that meet standards to be set by the New York State Department of Health.

While Mr. Cuomo’s measure falls well short of full legalization, it nonetheless moves New York, long one of the nation’s most punitive states for those caught using or dealing drugs, a significant step closer to policies being embraced by marijuana advocates and lawmakers elsewhere.

New York hopes to have the infrastructure in place this year to begin dispensing medical marijuana, although it is too soon to say when it will actually be available to patients.

What we think

From the NY Post:

Most New York voters favor legalizing marijuana, but by a slim 51-44 majority, according a new poll.

Quinnipiac University found the younger the voters, the higher they are on the idea, with 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds favoring legalization.

Meantime homeowners and businesses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy should rebuild to stricter building codes, according to 65 percent of voters - including 68 percent in the city and 67 percent on Long Island, the hardest hit regions.

Eight percent think destroyed structures shouldn't be rebuilt at all, the Dec. 5-10 telephone survey of 1,302 voters found.

While 74 percent say they're concerned about climate change and two thirds expect their community to be hit by a major storm in the next decade, only 45 percent think Sandy actually resulted from climate change.

Fake pot now illegal in NY state

From the Huffington Post:

The sale of synthetic marijuana has been banned in New York following a warning issued by the state's health department.

The "legal pot" products have been popping up in bodegas and smoke shops around the state under innocuous names such as Mr. Nice Guy, Spice, and K2 (we always saw these suspiciously pot-looking vials but were too afraid to ask what the hell they were).

In New York City alone, calls to poison centers skyrocketed from just four in 2009 to over 110 in the last year.

The legal loophole of these products is that most of them are sold as "incense" and the packaging often warns that it's "not for consumption."

The synthetic drugs, popular amongst teens around the country, have been known to lead to severe side effects including acute renal failure and even death.

Pete vs. pot

From the Daily News:

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., responding Wednesday to a Daily News investigation, said he has initiated drafting of a bill to ban synthetic marijuana.

“I guess we all assumed that the federal government was going to act on it, but we can’t wait because our kids are dying,” the Queens Democrat said.

“We should move as other municipalities have, like Suffolk (County), to make this substance illegal. It’s a camouflage killer.”

Synthetic pot, often called K2 or Spice, mimics the effects marijuana’s active ingredient, THC, has on the brain. The unpredictable mind-bender is sold at bodegas throughout the city, and has caused scores of patients to show up at hospital emergency rooms with symptoms including seizures, hallucinations, panic attacks and violent behavior.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer is pushing legislation for a nationwide ban.

Demolition derby in Astoria

Home invasion ends in arrest of residents

From CBS New York:

Police are searching for three suspects wanted for a home invasion in Queens.

Investigators spent part of Friday afternoon looking for clues at a home on Baisley Boulevard in Saint Albans.

Police say a man dressed as a UPS worker knocked on the door, pointed a gun at the person who opened it and then he and two other suspects pushed their way in.

The suspects tied up the people inside. They then escaped with money and jewelry. No one was hurt.

Two people however who were in the home were arrested after police say they found 20 pounds of marijuana inside.

This is what cops are busy doing

From the Daily News:

Four Queens men claim they were locked up for more than 30 hours by cops seeking revenge on a crowd of men who laughed at an officer who couldn't catch a fleeing drug suspect.

The men insist they didn't even laugh, says their lawyer Gabriel Harvis, who filed suit against the NYPD and 10 unidentified officers in Brooklyn Federal Court. They believe they were arrested because cops wanted to take their frustration out on them, he said.

"The cops knew my clients had done nothing wrong, but they didn't care," said Harvis, who represents Abdul Kabba, Isaiah Barnes, Hasan Allen and Ishmial Deas. Police "were embarrassed, so they abused their power by locking them up anyway."

The four were held for 27 hours in the 103rd Precinct stationhouse before the Queens district attorney's office dropped the charges.

WHAT is it with the Grant Houses and animal abuse?

From Eyewitness News:

Police in Harlem arrested a man for animal cruelty after they viewed some disturbing surveillance video from inside a Harlem building's elevator.

The incident took place on Thursday, September 30th at 10:00 p.m.

A New York City Housing Authority Viper camera inside the Grant Houses at 1315 Amsterdam Avenue captured a man violently yanking the leash of a small white dog, causing it to choke.

The man is also seen kicking the dog and slamming it into a wall.

The incident began in the elevator and continued for several minutes in the lobby of the building.

On Saturday, October 2nd at 4:30 p.m., officers located the dog with its owner, and were able to track down the suspect, 29-year-old Carlos Baez, who was arrested.

Baez is said to be the boyfriend of the dog's owner.

The dog, a 3-year-old mixed breed named Dutch, was removed to the Center for Animal Care and Control on East 110 Street, with the consent of its owner.

There, the 10-pound dog underwent an extensive examination and was found to be in good condition with no injuries.

Dutch remains at the CACC on an evidence hold regarding the case.

Baez is charged with one count of Torturing and Injuring Animals, and also one count of Unlawful Possession of Marijuana.

Limo driver smokes pot with clients

From the Daily News:

The '70's live inside the four doors of Al's white Cadillac.

For $100 an hour, late-night club crawlers can spread across its red leather seats, roll up its tinted windows and share a fat joint with the driver - Al, the affable cannabis chauffeur.

Al's dope limo service is a semisecret in the Manhattan after-hours party scene. To arrange a tour, you call Al on his cell phone and book a ride.

"I've been doing this a long time: 11 years," he said. "I take you where you need to go in the city in an enjoyable atmosphere."

The reporter - who did not smoke weed - watched as Al lit and passed a marijuana blunt while driving up Eighth Ave. towards Times Square on Thursday night.

The News is withholding Al's last name since his extra-special service isn't exactly legal.

It not being exactly legal is exactly why you should report his name. Haven't you ever seen "Shame On You"? Is DUI still illegal and highly dangerous or am I missing something?