Folks (mainly kids) smoke synthetic weed for many reasons. It’s easy to get and they can pass drug tests after using it. It is basically some type of herbal material sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids, other than THC (bud plants have a host of cannabinoids). While it may seem like a safer alternative, it is way more dangerous than actual weed (do ya Googles). The Excellent Tire Shop Service, in Queens Village, NY, was busted yesterday for manufacturing and distributing synthetic trees. The shop was also a spot to grab cocaine, allegedly.

Osvaldo Maria Vasquez, 46, was arrested at the scene as he was getting into a car outside of the shop with several large bags filled with the dope. He had been charged in a sealed federal complaint with conspiring to distribute cocaine. He was caught on a wiretap using “blonds” as a code word for coke (Get it? “White girl?”).

On Tuesday, agents with the FBI, DEA and NYPD seized more than 200 kilos of synthetic cannabis (said to be worth an estimated $200,000) from the shop, along with “industrial quantities of chemicals used to manufacture the synthetic dope, scales, packaging materials and flavoring agents,” according to the NY Daily News. The synthetic weed was sold under the common labels of “K” and “Spice.”

This is just the latest synthetic weed bust for the authorities in NYC. They’ve been cracking down on its sale. “Rearing its ugly head, synthetic cannabinoids were being manufactured and packaged with intentions to be unleashed in our city,” said DEA special agent in charge James Hunt.

Read here about the team of elderly synthetic weed sellers that were busted in Pennsylvania.