Commissioner Ray Kelly clarified yesterday that contrary to earlier reports, no struggle occurred between 18-year-old Ramarley Graham and the officer who fatally shot him in the bathroom of his Bronx home on Thursday. The Post reports that the two officers involved have been stripped of their weapons and assigned to desk duty, and the case will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether a crime was committed. "We're still evaluating the actions here," Kelly said. "We see an unarmed person being shot. That always concerns us." more ›

Suffolk County police pulled a man who had been swerving on County Road 19 in Holbrook on Thursday night—and found that he seemed "confused" and couldn't locate paperwork. And then the driver admitted he had been swerving so he could blow into his ignition interlock device. more ›

Sending drugs through the mail, not the best long-term drug smuggling method! A week after 35 pounds of coke was delivered (presumably mistakenly) to the United Nations, the DEA has started coming down on an allegedly mob-connected smuggling ring that used doormen in posh buildings to sign for their illicit deliveries. "It’s still an ongoing investigation—we’re still looking into it," a DEA agent told the Post. more ›

A Bronx mom has been charged after her six-year-old son was given an accidental, lethal dose of methadone—which had been stored in a cold medicine bottle. Raquel DeLeon, 36, was charged Thursday with reckless endangerment in the death of Carlos Rios Jr. DeLeon, who has two prior drug arrests, told police she has a prescription for methadone, but it is unclear why she was storing it in the DayQuil bottle. "As soon as he got sick, he was dizzy, he got in a coma and he died," the boy's maternal grandmother, Letty Muentes, told CBS. more ›

The Brooklyn South narcotics detective who was convicted of planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend was sentenced to five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service. Former cop Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year NYPD veteran, was previously found guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct for planting drugs on innocent suspects—a crime he claimed he did in order to reach quotas. Arbeeny broke down in tears at his sentencing today: "I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore," Arbeeny told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach. “Sir, I am begging you, please don't send me to jail." more ›

Sugar has been taking some lumps in the media lately, and now some people are even going so far as to suggest that it be regarded as controlled substance and be subject to governmental regulations similar to those of alcohol and tobacco! more ›

The NYPD made more than 50,680 arrests for low-level marijuana offenses in 2011, once again making low-level pot possession the number one cause of arrest in NYC. 2011 was the second-highest period for marijuana arrests in New York City history, and this despite NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly specifically ordering officers to stop arresting people who bring small quantities of marijuana into open view during a stop-and-frisk. In a September memo, Kelly told officers, "A crime will not be charged to an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana." Unfortunately, most hippies were too stoned to read all the way the bottom of the memo, where Kelly included a photo of himself winking slyly. more ›

Talk about the wrong address! Some silly Mexican drug traffickers recently lost 35.5 pounds of cocaine when they accidentally sent it to the United Nations. You can not make this stuff up. Also, that's a lot of blow. more ›

Small children simulating the throes of alcoholism is guaranteed viral GOLD. But society is less kind to kids with kind, even if they have no idea what they'd do with it. A 4-year-old boy brought nine bags of marijuana, which according to CBS "appeared to be wrapped for sale," to his pre-kindergarten class in Meriden, Connecticut yesterday. "Our concern is for the 4-year-old student, who had no knowledge of what he was bringing to school," Superintendent Mark Benigni said. Oh really? Then why he'd pull them out at snack time? more ›

Psychotropic drugs: what can't they do? Two different medical studies show that psilocybin, the active drug found in magic mushrooms, may assist in treating depression. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, after 30 volunteers took intravenous doses of psilocybin, MRI readings showed that the portion of the brain most active in depression was lowered. Another study to be published in the British Journal of Psychiatry showed that the chemical intensified positive memories. more ›

Making it past airport TSA screening with that illegal substance that does not harm your lungs and has never killed anyone, is difficult but not impossible. But 43-year-old Adam Blumenkranz was arrested on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Newark for allegedly smoking dope. Crew members told the AP that they gave Blumenkranz the stink eye after he "dropped a clear plastic bag in the cabin." more ›

For one of the oldest drugs going, marijuana sure has room for innovation. While pot enthusiasts in states without legal weed have been turning to synthetic bud of late, researchers in England are hard at work on a weed-based mouth-spray that they hope will help cancer patients. And the FDA is taking it seriously. Like those chloraseptic sprays, but someone put their weed in there. more ›

According to a 20-year study [pdf] federally funded by the National Institute for Drug Abuse and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, marijuana, the illicit substance grown naturally from the earth that around 100 people every hour are arrested for possessing, doesn't harm your lungs. So what was true in 1972, 1995, and 1999, remains true today! We're awaiting the emergency press conference in the Rose Garden, and a tipster tells us that Burning Spear's tour bus has appeared on Pennsylvania Ave. more ›

The video clip that appears to show a Utica road cop planting drugs during a traffic stop last February doesn't tell the whole story, Utica police Chief Mark Williams insists. Although the officer is seen removing a bag of white powder from his pocket before reaching into the vehicle with the same bag half a minute later, Williams claims the full video shows that the officer, Paul Paladino, had earlier found the drug's in the suspect's pocket. He then temporarily placed it in his own pocket as he continued to search the perps and the vehicle, Williams says. more ›

A 19-year-old Bronx woman was caught on her way back to New York from Jamaica for allegedly trying to smuggle three pounds of cocaine in her shoes. It doesn't quite compare to this, but still, the blow doesn't look like it was stashed there on accident. more ›

The father of the 21-month old girl who was shot in the face in the crossfire of a Staten Island shootout in September was caught yesterday with 66 baggies of crack and cocaine strapped to his genitals with a rubber band. Michael Bailey, 28, was stopped by police for erratic driving yesterday, and arrested for pot possession—but when police searched him, they found the other narcotics. “I do what I have to, to make money and survive,” Bailey allegedly told police, according to the Post. more ›

It's continuing to be a banner year for street shakedowns as the NYPD has stopped 514,000 people through September 2011, 13% higher than 2010. According to the NYCLU, 4 million people have been stopped since the program began in 2004. Did the lucky 4 millionth customer win a wheelbarrow full of NYPD swag? Were they allowed to keep their dignity and take a photo with NYPD's stop-and-frisk mascot, Patty, The Firm Hand Of Justice? more ›

Drug traffickers, apparently tired of storing their stash in hangers, saris and sneakers, have found a new place to hide the goods: your luggage. So now you can pay a "checked baggage fee" AND bail when you're busted for being a drug mule! more ›

A Bronx man allegedly high on drugs took a Mt. Sinai Hospital ambulance out for a little early-morning joyride, though the suspect was probably just borrowing the wheels, man. more ›

On Thursday, the NYPD allegedly sent out a directive ordering narcotics officers to make no arrests based on drug transactions that they witnessed, unless an undercover officer was present. According to the Post, this message "stunned drug cops," with once source saying, "They were told point-blank they couldn't make observation arrests without their undercovers." But it turns out it was all a big misunderstanding. Sheesh, haven't any of you cops played telephone? more ›

The Brooklyn South narcotics detective accused of planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend was found guilty yesterday. Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year NYPD veteran, was guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct for planting drugs on innocent suspects in order to reach quotas. more ›

A Murray Hill resident facing eviction is threatening to file a class-action lawsuit against his landlord, who continues to complain about the "odor of marijuana" emanating from his apartment. Sebastian Rosario claims that he'll sue the owner of 340 E. 34th Street for harassment and threatening to kick him out. In court papers obtained by the Post, the landlord alleges that neighbors complain of "strong smoke odors, including the odor of marijuana" around Rosario's aparment. Wait, people smoke marijuana INSIDE their apartments? more ›

In his hilariously-covered new memoir, former SNL comedian Darrell Hammond admits to heavy drinking, drug use, and even of practicing forms of self-harm during his tenure there. According to the Post, Hammond engaged in the behavior to escape painful childhood memories. "I kept a pint of Remy in my desk at work. The drinking calmed my nerves and quieted the disturbing images that sprang into my head…when drinking didn't work, I cut myself," Hammond writes. more ›

Forty-six people, aged 17 to 63, were arrested yesterday on drugs charges as part of a seven month sting operation at the LeFrak City housing complex in Queens. In a release [pdf], the Queens DA's office alleges that many of the drugs—which included cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and prescription medication—were distributed at a licensed day care center in LeFrak city. Note to drug dealers: using day care centers to store drugs is passé. more ›

When a years-old human skeleton was first found in a basement crawl space in Stapleton after Tropical Storm Irene last month, authorities didn't know where the bones came from. But now—just in time for Halloween!—the medical examiner has spoken, and things are looking pretty grisly. more ›

The cost of peddling pills out of an ice cream truck? Three and a half years. That's how long Staten Islander Louis Scala, Jr., was sentenced to today for his role in drug dealership that operated out of a Lickety Split truck in Richmond County. more ›

A Staten Island man claims that NYPD officers in the Staten Island Gang Squad beat and sodomized him during a drug arrest earlier this year, then threatened his life if he ever came forward with the story. more ›