That’s what I’m talking about when I say “Magic School Bus.” According to information obtained by The Post, prosecutors in Queens shut down a Marijuana distribution organization that was operating out of a brightly colored converted school bus selling “Beach Boyz Budz” brand pot.
According to the Queens DA’s Office, the bus was operating in Rockaway Park, New York, barely two blocks from adjacent schools while painted in the characteristic green, yellow, and red of Jamaican Rastafarians. Rastafari is a religion practiced primarily in Jamaica that venerates the late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and advocates using marijuana as a means to enlightenment.
The two individuals charged in the sting were identified as Omar Herrera, 32, and David Reilly, 46, who police say purchased almost 2.5 kilograms of marijuana, 274 joints, and 9 THC vape “pens” from the suspicious location. Under the alias “Beach Boyz Budz,” the two reportedly peddled their contraband. A one-pound marijuana plant, a bottle of cannabis syrup containing one thousand milligrams,
two jars of cannabis “crumble,” and 49 bags of cannabis gummy candies and pastries were seized, according to investigators. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz stated in a statement that “stores, trucks, and other outlets already selling recreational Marijuana are doing so illegally.”
“The state has not tested and does not regulate what people are buying from these vendors.”The district attorney stated, “Private testing has demonstrated that the cannabis products sold through these illicit companies often include dangerous toxins.”
She went on to say that “the illegal dealers are undercutting the licensed merchants before they ever get started,” which results in a loss of tax income and cuts to public services. Earlier this month, a state commission in New York approved licenses to businesses that will sell recreational marijuana.
Twenty months after the state legalized adult-use weed, and with the streets of New York City flooded with unlicensed merchants, the Office of Cannabis Management authorized the permits. In a statement released on Wednesday, City Sheriff Anthony Miranda said, “While the city has an obligation to promote authorized dispensaries, many establishments in each borough continue to flout the law by selling unregulated products.”
