Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
An online story today on BayNews9.com announced that law enforcement in the Tampa Bay area will begin cracking down on the increasingly-popular “synthetic marijuana” that many kids, teenagers, defendants on probation and/or anyone else that needs to pass a drug test have been increasingly using.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says it’s time to the kill the buzz on synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as K2, Spice or Blueberry Meditation.It takes just a glance on the K2 hyperlink that I’ve provided to see that these companies are staying ahead of the curve by modifying their product to circumvent various State laws that are being drafted to outlaw their product.
This so-called “legal weed” produces a high that doesn’t come from a plant, but a chemist.
“Even the doctor who created it in the lab says this should never ever be used for human consumption,” said Judd. “We know from our research it causes anxiety, hypertension, vomiting, hallucinations and we know that the kids are smoking it.”
The concoction of dried herbs is sprayed with a chemical up to one hundred (100) times more powerful than THC, the active ingredient in Marijuana.”One package may make you sick,” Judd said, “the next package may kill you.”
Smoke shops and convenience stores sell synthetic marijuana legally in Florida. Synthetic marijuana is not a controlled substance here. Yet.
However, Sheriff Judd said there is a law on the books he now intends to enforce. That law makes it a Third Degree Felony to sell something that mimics the effects of marijuana or any other controlled substance.
“We intend to arrest the store owners and the clerks who sell or deliver this product,” said Judd.
The statute Judd is planning to arrest people under states it is illegal to sell or distribute any substance that imitates the effects of a banned drug. It’s not illegal to possess, only to sell. The Third Degree Felony charge that the Polk County Sheriff is planning to use is punishable by up to five (5) years in a Florida State Prison.
In other words, DON’T SELL OR DELIVER THIS STUFF IN POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA. You’ve been warned!!
Nicholas J. Dorsten, Esq.
Blake & Dorsten, P.A., LLC