A.G. Schneiderman Secures Permanent Ban On Sale Of Mislabeled Synthetic Drugs And Penalty For Owner Of Watertown Head Shop
Owner Of Trip On The Wild Side II To Pay $27,000 For Violating State Labeling Laws
Schneiderman: Creative Labeling Law Approach Gets Swift Results In Removing Dangerous Synthetic Drugs From Store Shelves
Yesterday, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that a judge has signed a consent order and judgment demanding mislabeled or unlabeled products, including synthetic drugs or street drug alternatives commonly referred to as "designer drugs," be permanently removed from the store shelves of Trip On The Wild Side II, in Watertown. In addition to the removal of these harmful products, owner Kenneth Wayne Hamm must also pay $25,000 in penalties and $2,000 in costs.
As part of Attorney General Schneiderman's undercover investigation, agents went into the Trip On The Wild Side II store at 671 Mill Street in Watertown and purchased items, such as Cali Crunch, Zaney Bar, Lucky Kratom, Adarol Energy, and nitrous oxide canisters.
"The proliferation of designer drugs has become a crisis in Jefferson County, New York State and across the country. The judge's order proves that, by taking a creative approach in using the state's existing labeling laws, we can get swift results to remove dangerous synthetic drugs from store shelves and hold sellers accountable for breaking the law," said Attorney General Schneiderman. "We will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to combat the growing and dangerous synthetic drug epidemic."
The order and judgment, which permanently bans the sale of any synthetic drugs or intoxicants, was signed by the Honorable James P. McClusky, Supreme Court, Jefferson County. The order comes after Attorney General Schneiderman's office conducted an undercover investigation into head shops across the state. The investigation revealed that head shop retailers were selling designer drugs, including commonly known synthetics such as "bath salts" and "synthetic marijuana." Undercover investigators statewide also discovered head shop employees were promoting these dangerous synthetic drugs and giving tutorials on how to prepare and ingest them.
Under New York State's labeling law, the packaging of consumer commodities must, at a minimum, identify the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, the common product name, the net quantity of contents, and the net quantity of servings, uses or applications represented to be present with appropriate directions and warnings for customary use.
On July 10, the Attorney General filed 12 lawsuits against 16 head shop locations, including Trip on the Wild Side II. Within 36 hours of filing the lawsuits, the Attorney General's office obtained Temporary Restraining Orders from all 12 judges effectively removing the mislabeled products from the shelves. Monday's order permanently bans the retailer from selling synthetic drugs.
Additionally, on August 1, the Attorney General filed a new lawsuit against Tebb's Head Shops for the sale of bath salts and synthetic drugs in violation of the state's labeling laws. Attorney General Schneiderman sued John Tebbetts, III of Rome, NY, who owns and operates a chain of eight head shops located throughout Central and Northern New York, for violating the state's labeling laws by selling designer drugs.
Although Federal and State authorities have attempted to outlaw certain chemicals and their analogs and to remove these items from commerce, their efforts continue to fall short as the chemists and producers providing the products for head shops simply alter formulas and stay ahead of the legislation.
The Attorney General's lawsuits also pursue retailers for the illegal sale of nitrous oxide to the public, a specific violation of the State Public Health Law. Commonly known as "Whip Its," nitrous oxide has been linked to several deaths by asphyxiation and other adverse health effects. The gas is typically used by youths who see it as an easy "high."
In addition to Trip on the Wild Side II, judges issued temporary orders removing synthetic drugs from the following retailers sued by Attorney General Schneiderman:
· Village Sensations in Nanuet (Permanent order and judgment banning sales issued August 14)
· Twisted Headz in Syracuse (Next court date - September 19)
· Pavilion International in Buffalo & Commack (Next court date - August 31)
· Rolling Fire Glassworks in Endicott (Next court date - September 28)
· Goodfellas Alternative Smoke Shop in Utica (Store is no longer operating)
· 20 Below/ This and That in Plattsburgh (Next court date - October 12)
· Shining Star Enterprises in Albany (Next court date - September 14)
· Giggles in Poughkeepsie (Next court date - September 5)
· East Coast Psychedelics in Oceanside and Commack (Next court date - September 6)
· Tebb's Head Shops (eight locations) in Central and Northern NY (Next court date - August 23)
· Daze Smoke Shop in Baldwin (Permanent order and judgment banning sales issued July 31)
· Look Ah Hookah in Rochester (Permanent order and judgment banning sales issued July 26)
This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General In-Charge Deanna Nelson and Investigator Chad Shelmidine, under the supervision of Executive Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Martin J. Mack.