It’s high time New York nipped this in the bud.
THC-infused drinks are sprouting up in unlicensed grocery stores and delis across the Big Apple — as officials warn unsuspecting shoppers and kids could be in for a drug-laced surprise.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said he was “outraged” that the weed drinks are being illegally sold alongside regular beverages in bodegas and other spots in the five boroughs while state authorities appear to have done little to crack down on the problem.
“I’m outraged that a local supermarket chain in Manhattan is illegally selling potent THC drinks alongside ordinary fruit juices and sodas, where any child could purchase these products and suffer from severe, life-threatening toxicity,” Holyman-Sigal.
The unexpected high could be a buzzkill for kids’ health, experts said — with the American Academy of Pediatrics warning that cannabis can lead to serious medical problems for children.
In adults, THC drinks can produce feelings of euphoria and relaxation, but they can also trigger anxiety, paranoia, nausea, vomiting and a faster heart rate — especially in people new to cannabis, according to Harvard Medical School.
THC drinks can only be sold at licensed marijuana shops in the state.
But Holyman-Sigal said he already alerted the state’s Office of Cannabis Management to a violation at a supermarket in Manhattan last month, and the drinks were removed — only to pop up on shelves again.
The Post found pot-laced drinks at dozens of delis citywide, including stores where the beverages were displayed alongside coffee, juice and soda.
Shoppers told The Post they did not even realize the drinks were infused with THC.
College student Maya Nelson, 21, said the shelf setup provided the drinks with some cannabis camouflage.
“I would have thought that was kombucha,” Nelson said. “They’ve got the sort of hippie packaging.”
The manager of a deli on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg said he just ordered the green-spiked drinks from a beer distributor.
When asked whether the store had a hemp or THC license, he replied: “A hemp what?” — and seemed to be hazy about who actually needed a license.
“If they didn’t have a license they wouldn’t sell it to me,” he said.
On the Upper West Side at Amsterdam Marketplace, the drinks sat on a shelf near organic milk, iced coffee and other beverages.
Karin Cieslik, 71, said she would have missed them entirely if they had not been pointed out to her by a Post reporter.
“I guess it’s not cool ‘cause a kid could pick it up,” she said.
Nick Josh, 37, who manages a restaurant in Williamsburg, said the high licensing cost — around $8,000 in New York City — leaves small businesses out of the rotation.
“Gouging people for different licenses and things of that nature, you only beg for bad behavior,” he said.
Enforcement has been a problem since the outset for New York’s Office of Cannabis Management.
The agency’s slow licensing rollout and lax enforcement fueled New York’s illegal cannabis market in 2024, causing Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in and order an overhaul of the agency.
Britni Tantalo, president of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, is now calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to order the NYPD to help the state with enforcement.
“The illegal cannabis market continues to thrive in New York,” Tantalo said. “Mayor Mamdani must order the NYPD to pursue businesses selling illegal cannabis products.”
The NYPD has helped shut down illegal cannabis shops before, usually by teaming up with the Sheriff’s Office and state regulators in task-force sweeps.
State officials said they have been targeting products sold outside the legal cannabis framework.
“Some businesses have marketed intoxicating cannabinoid hemp products outside of New York’s legal framework,” a spokesperson for the Office of Cannabis Management said. “Many of the Office’s enforcement efforts—including product seizures and the closure and padlocking of illicit storefronts—have involved the unlawful sale of these unregulated intoxicating hemp products.”
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