Christopher Duncan of Copiague, NY is thanking his lucky stars that he was born a white, rich, child. This week, his lucky accident of birth earned him a free pass in a federal drug court that fell all over itself to spare him the humiliation of going to prison for knowingly breaking the law.

A former University of Vermont student, Duncan, was running a cocaine trafficking operation out of his frat house back in 2007. Local authorities raided the house the week of graduation finding it full of drug paraphernalia, coke, and cash. In danger of receiving some serious jail time, the judge let him off with 100 hours of community service and two years of probation.

District Court judge William Sessions III saw fit to take it easy on the young cocaine trafficker because he was “a stupid kid” and, as he said to the defendant:

It shows your lack of serious involvement and your absolute naivete, frankly.

Speaking of naivete, one wonders why judges find their soft streaks only when faced with the Caucasian Children of the Rich? Couldn’t a little leniency be in order for the bus baggage-handler busted by the DEA for passing along small packages of contraband? What about the church minister that set up a little weed garden for some of his sick parishioners? Or any number of low level street dealers who were certainly naive, certainly bit players in their own little neighborhoods. Where is their leniency? Where is the compassion for them?

The simple truth is, what was going through this young man’s mind when he decided to play Blow Daddy with the local sorority girls, is the same exact thing that goes through the mind of every aspiring drug dealer, large or small. It’s a mixture of greed, opportunism, and indifference for his fellow man. Once this mindset is in place, it’s all just a question of scale; of entrepreneurship. And when the hammer comes down, it’s all a matter of skin tone.

The Special Moments Daycare Center in East Flatbush was the scene of an attempted robbery on Friday, around twenty minutes after noon. Three suspects busted into the building where napping kids had been dreaming in quiet slumber. After responding via a 911 call, cops arrived at the scene and shot one suspect, 32-year-old Brooklyn native, Gavin Nugent, when he raised his loaded 9mm pistol at them.

After being admitted into the Kings County Hospital Center for gunshot wounds to the torso and wrist, Nugent was charged with burglary, robbery and weapons possession along with his two other accomplices, 35-year-old Dwayne Jackson and 39-year-old Carl Grierson. The reason for the attempted break-in wasn’t apparent until one of them told the police just why exactly they were trying to rob a daycare center.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly commented:

It now appears the day care center was a drug haven, or where drugs in significant quantities were kept, primarily marijuana. [...] Marijuana was located at the scene, along with at least $100,000 in cash. It appears to be what the robbers were looking for.

Police then arrested 37-year old Donna Rogers, the operator of the daycare center, and her husband, 36-year-old Sherwin Rogers and charged them with possession of marijuana. Not sure what to say about this one, other than kids & drugs generally don’t mix. Now go do some coloring.

For all you East Coasters, Fatboy Slim and Shinichi Osawa will be performing at Terminal 5 in New York tomorrow night, June 24. For $40 (advance) or $45 (day of show), you can catch the only east coast appearance of the tour.

Ticketmaster is also offering an optional charity donation:

Fatboy Slim would like to give you the option of donating $1.00 to CommonGround Collective to aid Hurricane Katrina survivors through their free health clinic.

They still need our help. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

When you purchase your ticket, you can get a digital copy of I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat by The BPA (Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim) for $7.99.

Word.

Melissa “Missy” Giove, 37, a retired multiple times champion in downhill mountainbike racing, was arrested last week near Saratoga Lake in NY, after being pulled over driving a truck and trailer, hauling around 220 pounds of marijuana.

Authorities caught wind of the plan when Illinois State Police had pulled over the same truck and trailer before Giove obtained it. After converting the female driver into a confidential informant, authorities completed the delivery to the Albany, NY area, where Giove then took over.

Giove then drove to the residence of 30-year old Eric Canori in Wilton, NY and unloaded some of the marijuana. After Giove’s arrest, Canori was arrested at home, where they located 150 pounds of marijuana and $1m in cash in his closet and basement.

At a detention hearing last Thursday, Canori was held on a $500,000 bail and both were ordered to surrender their passports. Their public defender, Tim Austin, had said that the drugs and money were planted.

The Bronx is up and so is the support for the legalization of medical marijuana, according to Assemblyman Richard Gottfried. Gottfried is a Manhattan Democrat who says the Big Apple has “by far the best chance we’ve ever had.”

Gottfried, alongside fellow Manhattan Democrat Senator Thomas Duane, plan to introduce legislation on Tuesday so that people suffering from serious medical conditions can use medical marijuana legally without fear of prosecution. While states like California will issue a medical marijuana card for a wide range of conditions, from anxiety to polio, this bill is applicable only to people suffering from specific diseases, such as cancer or HIV. Patients would be legally allowed to possess up to 2 ½ ounces of marijuana and grow up to 12 plants.

Gottfried has been pushing a similar bill for over ten years with no avail, and Duane, although unsure whether or not this one will pass, says:

No matter what, we are in better shape than we were last year.

Spirits are high, and with a little bit of hope, soon some very sick New Yorkers will be too.

Citing a recent study by the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, New York city officials have put together a campaign warning against the harmful effects of marijuana.

In total, the ‘health bulletin’ lists 20 separate dangers of marijuana use, including the 6 points talking about how much shit you’ll get into if caught in New York. They even spruce it up with the visual effect of some really bummed-out looking teenagers.

A few of the points listed by the campaign include:

• Marijuana can cause or worsen depression and other illnesses.
• Marijuana today can be a lot stronger than it was 30 years ago.
• Marijuana may be cut/mixed with other drugs or substances without the buyers knowledge.

While some of these issues are legitimate, especially in underage users, there is an obvious correlation between the drug’s contraband status and why it is often found cut with other substances.

I also like how most points contain the words “can” or “may be,” instead of more definitive phrasing. This is best illustrated by the claims like, “Long-term use can cause lung damage,” which is still under dispute in academic and scientific circles.

Stepped up enforcement just doesn’t seem to be doing the job in New York, as more patrons are complaining more frequently about smoking ban violations, and owners are being fined more often. Health department inspectors have taken to sneakier tactics to catch violators, like late-night inspections. And while fines are steadily increasing, the problem is either getting ignored or pushed underground depending on who you ask in the street.

While smoky bars still exist, some smokers insist they are by no means easy to find.

Mark Benkes was smoking outside a bar on the Lower East Side on a recent night, and he perhaps put it best: “You’ll find people doing blow more openly than smoking.”

Wooster Collective has given us a great view into Banksy’s first East coast show.

Unlike the massive Los Angeles affair, which theFreshscent covered here, this new Banksy experiment is in a 300 square foot store in New York.

Oh there’s one other slight difference… this show is filled with animatronics. Not content with graffiti, stencils, sculptures or Paris Hilton paraphernalia – Banksy unleashes swimming fishsticks, chick-in mcnuggets and more mind bending creations.

According to Wooster, The Village Pet Store & Charcoal Grill runs from 10am until midnight, every day, and is open to the public. Get down to 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street before Halloween (October 31st) to catch the action.

I’ve dumped a boatload of media after the jump, pictures and videos galore.

[images via Wooster Collective / Banksy]

East Coasters, WhiskyFest is coming to the Big Apple November 11th, 2008 from 6:30-10pm. A few of the top notch 20-years aged and older whiskies will be featured at the festival, like Willett 25-year-old Straight Rye Whisky and Parker’s Heritage Collection 2nd edition.

The event will feature more than 200 of the world’s finest, rarest, and most expensive, single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh, Canadian and other whiskies from around the world to sample in one Grand Ballroom. There will also be high-end rums, tequilas and beer.

The focus is on education, and many distillery representatives will be on hand at the pouring booths to explain how the whiskies are made. Attendees will also enjoy an expansive gourmet buffet all evening and will receive a commemorative Glencairn whisky glass.

Whisky drinkers with a more discriminating palate might want to check it out. Get your tickets now!