The fight against synthetic marijuana distribution becomes more urgent after
a Fayette County
student is treated for a serious adverse reaction.
Sheriff's Deputies responded to a call on Thursday, Feb. 16 on a school
bus. Two students apparently consumed some synthetic marijuana before
boarding the bus. One of them had to receive emergency medical treatment
as a result. Deputies say the investigation indicated that the drugs were
bought at the Co-Mac Convenience Store in Fayetteville.
Search warrants were served at the Co-Mac locations in Fayetteville
and Oak Hill where officers with the Fayette County Sheriff's Officer Drug Unit
and the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation seized 47
packages of synthetic marijuana worth around $2,000. They also nine sets
of digital scales and more than 500 marijuana pipes, crack pipes and paraphernalia
used to smoke synthetic marijuana and crack cocaine.
"The problems that we routinely face from the sale and distribution of
illegal street drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, as well as from the sale of
prescription pain pills, is bad enough," said Sheriff Steve Kessler.
"Now we have retailers selling synthetic marijuana openly in area
convenience stores."
"Make no mistake about it, this synthetic marijuana is a dangerous
drug. It may have been created in a laboratory and it might be packaged
and marketed as 'incense' and 'not for human consumption,' but the manufacturers,
distributors and retailers are well aware that this drug contains dangerous
chemicals and should not be sold to anyone, much less underage children,"
said Kessler.
No criminal charges have been filed against the retailers involved in the
sale of this synthetic marijuana, but a report was submitted to the Office of
the Prosecuting Attorney for review and the possible filing of criminal
charges.
This is not the first time the synthetic drugs have been seized, in 2011
more than $10,000 of the drug were taken from an area convenience store.
Sheriff Kessler said law enforcement agencies have been receiving complaints in
recent months about the open sale of the synthetic drugs to underage
children. The drugs are distributed by the same manufacturer and are
packaged under the brand names "Head Trip," "Chronic Jet
Blaster," Spice" and "K-2." All of the products are
derived from the synthetic drug, Salvia, which was previously listed as a
controlled substance and banned by the W.Va. Legislature.
A release from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office says the distributor
provides "certifications" that the drugs have been tested and do not
contain chemicals or substances banned by law. However, testing at the
West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory determined this to be a false
and inaccurate claim. Those tests reveal the packages each contain one and four
grams of synthetic marijuana according to the release from Sheriff Kessler.
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