Sale of mislabeled synthetic drugs banned; head shop fined

The sale of mislabeled synthetic drugs has been permanently banned in New York state and the owner of a head shop in Rockland County has been fined for mislabeling the drugs in violation of state law.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that a judge has signed a consent order and judgment demanding mislabeled or unlabeled products, including synthetic marijuana and other intoxicants, be permanently removed from the store shelves of Village Sensations in Nanuet. Smoken L.L.C., doing business as Village Sensations, must also pay a $13,000 penalty and $2,000 in costs. The order and judgment permanently ban the sale of any synthetic drugs or intoxicants.

As part of an undercover investigation, agents went into Village Sensations and purchased items, including two types of Kratom products, nitrous oxide canisters and Mollys Mosquito Caps, which according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, are extremely dangerous.

“The proliferation of synthetic drugs has become a crisis in Rockland County, New York State and across the country,” said Schneiderman. “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 off store shelves and hold sellers accountable for breaking the law. We will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to combat the growing and dangerous synthetic drug epidemic.”

The investigation revealed that head shop retailers were selling designer drugs, including commonly known synthetics such as bath salts and synthetic marijuana. It also found that head shop employees were promoting synthetic drugs and giving instructions on how to prepare and ingest them.

Under New York state 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.