AG'S Office Intercepted Designer Drugs From New York Wholesaler Selling Drug Laced Candy, E-Liquids, And Other Substances, According to AG Lawsuit

Bronx Court Issues Restraining Order Against NY Distributor Who Allegedly Sold And Promoted Mislabeled Intoxicants Online for Retail and Wholesale Buyers

Separate New York Retailer Sold "Psycho" and "Green Giant" From Storefront, According To AG Lawsuit

Building on his office’s cutting edge work to stop the sale of so-called designer drugs, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently announced that his office has filed lawsuits against Erie County-based Surrealistic Sensations, operated by Michael Jamail, and Rockland County-based Liquid Shop a/k/a Liquid Glass Shop, operated by Andrew Grogan for allegedly selling hallucinogenic and psychotropic drugs and street drug alternatives. These substances, known as "designer drugs," promote auditory and visual hallucinations, sedation, euphoria, and other street drug effects, but can lead to addiction, psychosis, acute arrhythmia, asphyxiation and even death.

The Attorney General’s investigation found that the distributors named in the lawsuit were labeling dangerous products with names like “Green Giant” and “Psycho,” and in new formats like psychoactive eliquids and candies, then promoting and marketing them as “legal highs.” As detailed in the petitions, some products had practically no label information and most lacked comprehensive ingredient lists, warnings, and directions for use, as required by law. Without ingredient disclosure, adequate usage or warning information, the lawsuits allege that the labels are deceptive and the drugs are dangerous for consumers. The investigation revealed sales being made in New York and, in some instances, far beyond New York’s borders. In response to the AG's lawsuit, a Bronx County Supreme judge issued a restraining order and demanded Surrealistic Sensations appear in court.

“The proliferation of illegal designer drugs is a national health crisis that is hurting New York families and communities,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “After successfully stopping more than 20 head shops across our state from selling these dangerous drugs, my prosecutors and investigators are tracking down dealers who sell these drugs online and in stores. There is one set of rules for everyone, and if your trade is selling dangerous, mislabeled drugs anywhere in New York State, you must stop -- or we will stop you.”

As alleged in the petitions, filed in Supreme Court in Bronx and Rockland Counties, undercover investigations revealed that the businesses were violating state labeling laws by selling and promoting dangerous and illegal drugs in New York. As alleged in the petitions, Surrealistic Sensations, which is based in Lackawanna in Erie County, sold designer drugs online to consumers in the Bronx and elsewhere. Another retailer, Liquid Shop, promoted and sold designer drugs at a storefront located at 66 S. Broadway in Nyack.

These substances, known as "designer drugs" have psychoactive effects similar to those of more commonly known street drugs, but they are typically packaged with innocuous labels and graphics to give the misleading impression that they are harmless. Designer drugs have contributed to a public health crisis in New York State and across the nation, and attempts to stop their spread by outlawing specific chemicals have been of limited success.

These lawsuits are part of an ongoing effort by Attorney General Schneiderman’s office to stop the sale of designer drugs. The initiative, which began in 2012, successfully removed street drug alternatives and designer drugs from the shelves of numerous head shops across New York. The Attorney General’s office has filed dozens of lawsuits against head shops that sold designer drugs, which resulted in judges across the state issuing permanent injunctions barring 22 stores from selling these products. The rulings came after the office showed the products were illegal because their contents were not properly labeled, thus violating state and federal laws.

Between April and September of this year, senior investigators from the Attorney General’s Office made multiple buys from Surrealistic Sensations and Liquid Shop. Operating in person, on the phone and the internet, the agents purchased a variety of mind-altering substances including “Green Giant,” “Psycho,” and several psychoactive liquids, resins, and tinctures. The Rockland County investigation was prompted by a complaint submitted by a Suffern resident whose son collapsed and required hospitalization after inhaling product purchased at Liquid Glass Shop.

"The lawsuits filed today by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman render another blow to the K2 and synthetic drug industry. I applaud his actions for helping take more of this poison off the streets. I will continue to push for my robust package of statewide legislation to criminalize sales of K2, crackdown on businesses engaging in K2 sales and bring our state's analog law in line with Federal law to stop unscrupulous chemist's from tweaking formulas to evade the law," said State Senator Jeffrey Klein.

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (D-Bronx) said : "The problem of dangerous designer drugs is growing and becoming an even greater threat to our communities. I applaud the Attorney General for continuing the statewide fight to keep these dangerous drugs our of our neighborhoods and out of arm’s reach of our kids. Together, we can eliminate these drugs out of our city.”

Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson (D-Bronx), Chair of the Committee on Public Safety said, "We cannot ignore the abundance of synthetic cannabinoids within our communities. K2 is an unregulated and potentially deadly substance and I am proud to be a part of the legislative effort to address this growing epidemic. As Chair of the Committee on Public Safety, I am proud that our state's comprehensive legislative approach will enable law enforcement to target manufacturers and distributors without criminalizing the actions of vulnerable populations and substance abusers. The Attorney General's actions today and the bills recently passed by the City Council are strong steps toward keeping these drugs off of our streets and out of our grocery stores. I thank my state and local colleagues for recognizing the seriousness of the K2 epidemic and taking swift and decisive action to protect the safety of our community. "

“There is a completely new level of violence and unpredictability associated with these patients,” said Maja Lundborg-Gray, M.D., of Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown. “This demonstrates the gravity of the danger posed by users of designer drugs. I support Attorney General Schneiderman’s efforts of getting these unlabeled, misbranded and misleading so called ‘designer drugs’ off store shelves in New York State.”

“An alarming number of patients being treated for K2 use and abuse at ACI Rehab located in midtown Manhattan are adolescents, ages 12 to 22. The accessibility on the Internet and local stores, low cost and catchy names, such as 'Scooby Snax,’ ‘fake weed,’ and ‘moon rocks,’ make K2 an attractive choice for young people. K2 can have very harmful effects including hallucinations, paranoia, seizures and spikes in blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The variability of the presenting symptoms and the fact that it does not show up on standard drug tests make K2 use and overdose challenging to diagnosis. Keeping drugs like K2 off the streets is another important piece of the puzzle when it comes to the war on drugs. The legal and legislative actions by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Senator Jeff Klein are exactly what is needed to cut off access to K-2 in New York State and protect our children,” said Warren Zysman, CEO of ACI Chemical Dependency Treatment Centers.

The lawsuits seek an accounting of all commodities sold or offered for sale by the companies, including the name of each product, the manufacturer and distributor of each product, a description of each product, the wholesale and retail prices of each product and the number of units sold. Federal and state laws and regulations require that all consumer commodities, at a minimum, be labeled to describe net contents, identity of the product, and the name and place of business of the product’s manufacturer, packer, and distributor. Drugs of any kind must be further labeled with particularized directions for use and comprehensive, intelligible warning information.

Although federal and state authorities have outlawed certain chemicals that are used in designer drugs, and their analogs, in order to remove these items from commerce, these efforts continue to fall short as the chemists and producers providing the products to bodegas and head shops simply alter formulas and formats to stay ahead of the legislation and the public's notice.

The Attorney General’s office has obtained an affidavit from a medical expert supporting his efforts to combat these drugs. Dr. Maja Lundborg-Gray of Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown told the Attorney General’s office that patients who have taken these street drug-alternatives are frequently violent and present a definite danger to the public and first responders who care for them.

Like the earlier cases, the lawsuit filed today seeks a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against the distributors, barring them from selling misbranded designer drugs. Further information about previous cases is available here.

The investigation was conducted by Attorney General investigators Chad Shelmidine, Peter Schottenfeld and Supervising Investigator Jonathan Woods.

The cases are being jointly prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General In Charge Roberto Lebron (Harlem Regional Office), Deanna Nelson (Watertown Regional Office), and Gary Brown (Westchester Regional Office), with Assistant Attorneys General, Jim Morrissey, Jason Clark, and Sandra Giorno-Tocco. The regional offices are led by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Regional Offices Martin J. Mack.