For the third time in a week, an NYPD officer has shot and killed a suspect. Yesterday an unidentified officer killed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham with a single bullet to the chest. The officer, a member of the narcotics unit, had chased Graham into his home, seen him flush something down a toilet and reportedly saw him make "furtive" movements, apparently prompting the cop to fire. Graham—who lived with his mother, grandmother and 6-year-old brother—was immediately mourned by family and neighbors. "Nobody deserves to get shot like that, in your own house," his bereaved mother, Constance Malcolm, cried to reporters. more ›

Yesterday, police raided a Bronx building which happened to house a five-story marijuana growing operation. Around 800 plants were seized, the equivalent of over 1500 pounds, including 75 pounds of dried marijuana. And the street value? Oh, around $7.5 million. 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 ›

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 ›

Police say that three-alarm fire in a Yonkers apartment building yesterday morning was caused by a marijuana grow house. The Journal News reports, "Twenty-four people, 12 adults and 12 children, from 11 families, including the unidentified suspect, were left homeless following the three-alarm blaze at 81 Van Cortlandt Park Ave." more ›

The Sunburnt Cow, the East Village's pre-eminent Australian all-you-can-drink brunch emporium, was shuttered last night due to "criminal sale and possession of controlled substances," which in layman's terms, means: dudes were selling drugs! (Okay, it means someone was using the restaurant as a space to sell drugs, but still.) more ›

Corey Holmes, the 39-year-old man who died after a strange scuffle with an NYPD officer on the College of Staten Island campus yesterday, had been working at the CUNY school's cafeteria for ten years. The city medical examiner will be performing an autopsy on Holmes today, which will hopefully help answer how a possibly-pot related dispute led to the death of a man. 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 ›

A Brooklyn middle school teacher has been arrested and charged with the rape of a 14-year-old student. Claudia Tillery, 42, allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with the unidentified boy for two years. Tillery, who teaches at MS 35, The Stephen Decatur Middle School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, allegedly bribed the student, then a sixth-grader, with alcohol and marijuana. more ›

Pot-loving Euro-trippers, start checking Priceline if you want one final hurrah in Dutch "coffeeshops"—the Netherlands are poised to start banning tourists from cannabis-selling cafes with the goal of "combating drug tourism and the accompanying public nuisance." What will Woody Harrelson do?! 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 ›

New Jersey's once-lauded medical marijuana initiative, which passed in 2010, is now indefinitely ensnared in bureaucracy. Initially supposed to begin this summer, governor Chris Christie put off launching the non-profit dispensaries for three months for the health department to investigate, and now it's uncertain when they'll open. The Star-Ledger seemingly crippled the opening of one clinic thanks to its ties to a Ponzi-schemer, and now they report that the Foundation Harmony dispensary cites bogus diplomas from dubious universities and has a medical advisor who once faced fraud allegations in New York. more ›

Sherwin Rogers faced up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in April to first-degree marijuana possession, but yesterday he was sentenced to just three months in jail. Considering the circumstances of his arrest, one might say he got off easy—after a shootout at the Special Moments Day Care in East Flatbush, police found 10 pounds of weed that Mr. Rogers had stashed in the basement. For those moments when he needed a special time out. more ›

Kids these days. If they're not sucking down the Four Lokos, they're rotting their teeth on pot-shaped candy instead. Say goodbye to candy cigarettes and hello to pot-shaped suckers. more ›

Ridiculous food trends come and go (eating Chia Pets, anyone?), but this is a new one: prepare to go "Beyond Pot Brownies" and onto pot soup, wine, and beer. Listen up: more ›

Pro Tip: if you're going to haul your pot stash AND a loaded gun around with you while you're traversing the city, you should probably go ahead and invest in a Metrocard. Turnstile freeloader Tyrell Thomas was nabbed in a Brooklyn subway station yesterday evening with those two items on him. Could the turnstile have had some "unexplainable" affect that blocked the oxygen to his brain? more ›

The family that cockfights together goes to jail together? New York State Police, after an investigation that involved The Humane Society of the United States, yesterday arrested four members of the Harvey family of Bleecker, NY, for possessing 70 roosters used for cockfighting. And while they were on the family's grounds looking for birds they also happend to find 40 pounds of marijuana, 12 illegal firearms, fighting spurs and thousands of dollars in cash. more ›

Conservatives have been up in arms all week over a rapper who seemingly glorifies the decadent lifestyle of food stamps and welfare. Stanley Lafleur, aka rapper Mr EBT (H-Man), watched as the video for his single "My EBT," which joyously depicts him using his government-issued Electronic Benefit Transfer card to pay for junk food, went viral this week after Drudge Report and other conservative bloggers held it up as The Reason This Country Is Going To Hell (not the champagne toasts). But Lafleur tells the News that conservatives just don't get his message: "I couldn't believe people are hating on me like I'm rubbing the benefit card in the face of taxpayers. They don't get it. My video is a parody." more ›

Since 1977, marijuana possession in New York has been decriminalized for amounts of 25 grams or less, as long as it's not in public view. In reality, marijuana possession is the number one reason for arrest in New York City. To correct this discrepancy, Commissioner Ray Kelly released a memo this week strongly reminding his officers that, "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 marihuana." more ›

Remember when President Obama's "Drug Czar" Gil Kerliokowske said that it was time to end the "War on Drugs?" Yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released the country's annual uniform crime report and in 2010, 853,838 people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses, or 97.5 people per hour, the highest ever reported. 52% of all drug arrests in the US are marijuana-related, 46% of those are for possession. more ›