Long Island cops raid 26 illegal weed stores in a week, seizing 15K products: officials
The countywide crackdown just began May 20 but has already seen 44 smoke shops or convenience stores raided and resulted in seven arrests and five businesses getting shut down permanently, according to police.
'We are not going to allow the proliferation of illegal marijuana shops in this county,' Suffolk Executive Ed Romaine told reporters at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank.
'Under the law, we not only padlock their business, but we seize all of their products,' Romaine added, saying the county will likely incinerate the seized products.
Police said the biggest busts so far came from raids on Cloud Nine V in Farmingville; Simply Green in Coram; Vape Guru in Bay Shore; and The Norm smoke shop in Patchogue.
Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina also revealed the raids found some of these storefronts selling illegal fireworks, magic mushroom chocolate bars from Colorado — and flavored vape pods to minors.
He told The Post that the police worked together with town officials from all over Suffolk County to identify locations that were possibly selling weed illegally.
'The places that we hit, we asked our precinct commanders and our elected townspeople to give us the spots that were the most problematic in our communities, and those are the spots that we targeted,' Catalina said of the raids.
Officials promised more raids to come.
'This isn't just about legality, it's more about safety,' said Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., whose department worked in collaboration with police to conduct the raids.
'Products sold outside of regulated channels can be dangerous and untested,' said Toulon Jr., referring to THC vape products.
Officials said the operation will continue indefinitely — with dozens more shops already in their crosshairs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Texas Senate passes THC ban bill, sends it to House for consideration
Legislation to ban THC products statewide — revived during the special session after a veto by Gov. Greg Abbott — passed the Texas Senate on Friday and now heads to the House for consideration. Senators approved Senate Bill 5 by a 21–8 vote. The bill would ban delta-8, delta-9, and all intoxicating forms of THC, including beverages, and prohibit the retail sale of any cannabinoid except cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG). Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, the bill's author, has rejected the governor's call to regulate hemp like alcohol, arguing that law enforcement lacks the resources to oversee THC products. He also contends that the hemp industry is not interested in regulation, but rather in profit. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick supports the bill, citing loopholes in hemp law exploited by "bad actors," health risks to children from THC products marketed like candy, and backing from law enforcement, medical associations, and concerned families. Just over a month ago, Abbott vetoed a similar bill banning products containing THC. He explicitly asked lawmakers to regulate, not ban, hemp products, calling on them to "craft a law that does as much as possible to corral the problems while also being structured so that it can go into effect this year." Advocates argue a ban would close hundreds of businesses and hurt Texans who use these products. "Hemp-derived consumables are affordable, accessible and effective," said Mitch Fuller, who represents the Texas VFW, in a previous interview with CBS News Texas. Fuller said many of the VFW's 65,000 veterans see the industry as an alternative to alcohol and opioids. But senators dismissed those claims. "We're taking a stance on this," Fuller said. "Again, no one's using us; we are doing this on our own volition because it helps us. It works great." The federal and Texas governments legalized hemp in 2018 and 2019, respectively, with agricultural uses in mind. The laws differentiated hemp from illegal forms of cannabis by defining it as having 0.3 percent delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or less. The laws didn't explicitly cap other forms of THC, such as delta-8 and delta-10, which aren't naturally found in large quantities but have similar psychoactive effects to delta-9. Cannabis companies capitalized on the loophole, supplying Texas retailers with products containing these unregulated compounds. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are produced by the same cannabis plant and have similar chemical structures but differ dramatically in their effects on brain function, according to the National Institutes of Health. Both compounds have therapeutic properties, but THC is associated with impairments and increased incidence of mental health disorders when used acutely or chronically. The NIH also notes that chronic use of high-dose CBD can lead to significant side effects. The bill now heads to the House for consideration. If passed, it will go to Abbott for approval, veto or inaction. The Senate's approval could lead to another standoff with the governor.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Pizza restaurant serves marijuana-tainted food to unwitting customers
Health authorities say at least 85 people, including eight children, suffered accidental marijuana intoxication after eating pizza, sandwiches and garlic bread from a Wisconsin restaurant. Seven of them were rushed to the local hospital with symptoms ranging from dizziness to anxiety. None of them knew they were consuming pot, and investigators, after checking for carbon monoxide exposure, tracked down the source to an unexpected culprit. Authorities with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the problems began when cooks at Famous Yeti's Pizza in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, ran out of canola oil last October. Instead of buying more oil, the restaurant workers grabbed cooking oil from a shared commissary area also used by a company that makes marijuana edibles, officials said. "The owner initially thought the oil was plain canola oil but later realized it might have been infused with THC," federal health officials concluded. Marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, but the edibles company was extracting and concentrating the delta-9 THC compound from hemp, investigators said. Hemp is a low-THC version of marijuana, and thus legal in Wisconsin, even though both marijuana and hemp come from cannabis plants. "Regulations regarding practices such as standard, clear labeling and locked storage for ingredients containing THC might decrease the risk for unintentional THC exposure at licensed food businesses," the CDC concluded. Other recent mix-ups The Famous Yetis incident is among the latest examples of people potentially consuming intoxicating products sold as something else. On July 29, the FDA announced a recall by the California-based High Noon seltzer company after it discovered workers had inadvertently packaged alcoholic seltzer in energy drink cans. Last year, the parents of a two-year-old said workers at a Japanese restaurant accidentally served their toddler cooking wine mislabeled as apple juice. Critics of legal marijuana have long argued that manufacturers deliberately blur the lines with pot-infused products resembling normal cookies or candies, and many states that have legalized marijuana have strict rules intended to prevent such mixups. Emergency-room doctors have reported a significant increase in the number of patients they've treated as marijuana legalization has spread across the country, but acknowledge alcohol still drives far more emergency hospitalizations and injuries. The CDC says more than 2,100 Americans die annually from alcohol poisoning, and about 178,000 people nationally die as a result of excessive alcohol use. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pizza joint: Wisconsin restaurant accidentally served pot-laced food Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
These Texas Democrats are at risk under proposed GOP maps
Texas Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a proposal for new congressional maps after President Trump called for the Lone Star State to create five new House seats ahead of the midterms. The proposed maps, filed as Texas lawmakers meet for a special session initially called after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a ban on THC, could help Republicans protect their narrow 219-212 House majority by redrawing some Democrat-held seats to incorporate far more Republican voters. If Republicans succeed, they would also, in a reprise of the pivotal redistricting campaign of 2003, destroy the districts of a cadre of progressive Democratic leaders. The GOP already holds 25 of the state's 38 congressional seats, but the changes could boost them to a 30-8 red advantage — though the draft could change as it works toward approval in the state chambers and faces pushback from Democrats. It would also have ramifications for the balance of power within Texas, at least as it pertains to the state's relationship with the federal government. That's because the new map strips one Congressional seat each from the Democratic-controlled urban powerhouses of Houston, Dallas and Austin-San Antonio — cities that offer the main locus of opposition to the state's Republican leaders and Congressional majority. Here are some of the Texas Democrats and districts that could be impacted by the proposed lines: Greg Casar & Lloyd Doggett Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference about the threat of default with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) One of the biggest changes to the map is in Rep. Greg Casar's (D-Texas) 35th Congressional district around Austin and San Antonio, which went to former Vice President Harris by 33 points in November — while the state went to Trump by 14 points overall. Since his election to Congress in 2022, Casar, a former labor organizer and Austin city councilman, has emerged as part of a new generation of progressive leaders and currently chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The new map would take Casar's district out of his Austin power base, creating a new +10 Trump district outside of San Antonio, according to analysis on X by Dave Wasserman, the senior editor of Cook Political Report. But while that 'nukes' Casar's district, he argued that in a good midterm year Democrats could still hold that seat. Casar, who has referred to redistricting as a 'five alarm fire,' called the destruction of his district 'illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans, Casar said on X. The changes could set up a potential primary matchup with Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D), who leads what's currently the 37th District. 'By merging our Central Texas districts, Trump wants to commit yet another crime— this time, against Texas voters and against The Voting Rights Act,' Casar said. Doggett said on X that his 'sole focus' at this point is 'defeating this Trump-imposed gerrymandering.' 'Trump is taking a hatchet to chop up Austin and our state with the sole objective of maintaining his one-man rule.' Julie Johnson & Marc Veasey Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. The new map reshapes Texas's 32nd and 33rd Congressional Districts, currently held by Democratic Reps. Julie Johnson and Marc Veasey, respectively. The shift creates a new Dallas Fort Worth-area +18 Trump seat in the 32nd, according to analysis by Wasserman, on X — a strong pickup opportunity for the GOP. Tarrant County, the urban county that includes Fort Worth and is split between the 32nd and 33rd, is the last of Texas's major urban counties that is controlled by Republicans and a bastion of the state's far right, with whom Veasey has been locked in a contest as part of a broader Democratic attempt to flip the county. Veasy's district would remain blue under the new proposal, according to the analysis from the Texas Tribune, but lose his Fort Worth hometown. In a scathing statement on Wednesday, Veasey blasted the proposed maps as 'part of a long, ugly tradition of trying to keep Black and brown [Texans] from having a voice' and underscored Trump's push for the changes. 'Republicans are bending their knee to a wannabe king, drawing maps in backrooms to appease a man who tried to overthrow an election and now wants to overthrow the will of Texans.' Johnson called the map a 'disaster' and a 'desperate move from a party losing its grip on a changing state.' Part of Johnson's district would also shift to Texas's 30th, held by Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), according to analysis from The Texan. Crockett on Wednesday blasted the proposed lines that 'cut 5 Democratic seats out of thin air,' calling it 'a power grab to silence voters and suppress votes.' Henry Cuellar & Vicente Gonzalez Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), left; Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), right. The Republican map is kinder to conservative Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar, one of Congress's last anti-abortion Democrats, whom the national party backed in his exceedingly narrow victory over progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in 2022. Under the new map, Cuellar's 28th Congressional District would move to a slightly stronger Trump district — from +7 to +10, according to Wasserman. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez's (D-Texas) seat in the 34th Congressional District would similarly shift from a +5 to +10 Trump district. But the changes for both Cuellar and Gonzalez 'are potentially survivable given ancestral Dem ties & a midterm without Trump on the ballot,' the analyst said on X. A campaign spokesperson told The Hill that Cuellar 'looks forward to continuing to serve the people of South Texas in Congress and advancing the issues that matter most to them.' 'What they forget is that I'm still a lawyer,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'We will fight this disgraceful attempt to cheat Lone Star State voters in Federal Court, and will win again in an era where Trump is deeply underwater.' Al Green Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on oversight on Capitol Hill in Washington. Among the proposal's dramatic shifts, Rep. Al Green's (D-Texas) seat in the 9th Congressional District would also merge with the empty Democratic slot vacated by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner. That would yield a safe Democratic seat in the 18th, offset by a new 9th in the more conservative suburbs east of Houston that Wasserman said could be 'a pretty safe GOP pickup.' A special election is ongoing to fill the vacancy for Turner's former seat. 'Let's call this what it is: Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans are trying to wipe Black and Brown communities off the political map. It's a slap in the face to the very folks who built this state,' said Christian Menefee, a former Harris County Attorney who's considered the favorite for Turner's old seat, in a statement. 'We're not backing down. We'll fight like hell to stop it,' Menefee said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
