Melbourne DEA raid nets 22,000 packets of synthetic marijuana

It’s been touted as the first nationwide crackdown on synthetic drugs.

 

drug Enforcement Administration raided a Brevard Countyindustrial complex Wednesday, federal and local agents revealed details Thursday about what they found.

Melbourne police and Brevard County deputies accompanied Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Wednesday’s raid at the complex on Dusa Drive.

Six warrants were served. Agents took away 22,000 packets of synthetic marijuana, which they said was being made at the facility.

They also found 8,000 packets of bath salts, along with potpourri used to infuse a number of chemicals to make the synthetic drug.

“These synthetic drugs are effectively marketed as bath salts, spice and incense, and even plant food,” said Jim Chaparro from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Nationally agents said one kilogram can produce $750,000 in retail profit.

Tim Reed, who works nearby, said the operation has been running for about a year.

“They had cement mixers out back, and they’d be running and they’d put those ingredients in, and they’re spraying something in there, in cement mixers,” said Reed. “They are probably still out of the back door of the place.”

Neighboring workers said most days, they heard the rumble of cement mixers around back. They reported smelling raspberry and other aromas in the air, and saw more than a dozen workers going inside the business daily.

Seven people were arrested on non-related drug charges and taken away in U.S. Border Patrol vehicles.

Since Wednesday’s bust, it was revealed that it was part of a much larger crackdown called “Operation Log Jam,” being conducted by the DEA alongside state and local agencies in Florida and several other states.

Two hundred sixty-five search warrants were executed in 90 cities in 30 states as part of the operation.

A total of 29 suspected manufacturing facilities were raided, including the one in Melbourne.

Melbourne Cloud 9, K2, bath salts raid part of nationwide sting

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. —

WFTV learned new information on raids aimed at seizing legal products that double as dangerous drugs.

On Wednesday in Melbourne, Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized hundreds of Cloud 9 packets, one of several designer drugs sold as incense, bath salts or plant food.

WFTV learned the raid, called Operation Log-Jam, was part of a nationwide sting.

Brevard County deputies raided a manufacturing facility in Melbourne that was distributing Cloud 9 incense, K2 and bath salts.

Agents pulled workers out in handcuffs and sorted through packages they said were about to be shipped to smoke shops and convenience stores across the state.

“This operation is the first nationwide coordinated U.S. law enforcement strike specifically targeting synthetic drugs sold in legitimate-looking packaging,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart.

Nearly 100 people were arrested and more than 5 million packets of synthetic drugs were seized in raids in 60 US cities.

But agents said their work is not done yet.

“We are pursuing long-term criminal investigations that will lead to more arrests and more successful prosecutions,” said James Chaparro, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations.

Officials said these substances are marketed toward teenagers and young adults and are very unsafe.

“They are incredibly dangerous, with users having unpredictable and sometimes deadly reactions to these substances,” said Leonhart.

People who work near the warehouse busted in central Florida said the drugs should be called “brain killers.”

“Some of my friends have been smoking this stuff, and I tell you it’s got to be killing their brains. God, it makes them crazy,” said Brevard County resident Tim Reed.

Agents said the main purpose of the operation was to protect the public.

“Protecting the public from dangerous people, dangerous products and dangerous material is what we do,” said Chaparro.

Agents said the legislature has a hard time keeping up with these operations because as soon as lawmakers outlaw some of these substances, the manufacturers just change the ingredients and continue to sell them.

Cities joining legal crusade to ban fake pot, ‘bath salts’

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Cities are joining a legal crusade to ban bath salts and synthetic marijuana. (Sarah Dussault, Sun Sentinel )

June 28, 2012|By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel

SUNRISE — Synthetic marijuana has been in the cross hairs of cities waging their own war against synthetic drugs.

Now it’s bath salts, the designer drug meant to mimic cocaine.

The ban movement was already under way when the world learned of the gruesome “Causeway Cannibal” attack.

Police initially suspected Rudy Eugene may have been on psychoactive bath salts when he attacked a homeless man in Miami on May 26, chewing away part of his face before being shot and killed by an officer. Toxicology reports released this week found only marijuana in his system.

But the May 26 incident gave momentum to the ban effort, with city officials pointing to growing evidence that the fake drugs may be more dangerous than the real.

Earlier this week, Lauderhill became the first city in Broward to ban bath salts. Commissioners approved a ban on synthetic marijuana the same night.

“It is a national problem,” Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan said. “These synthetic drugs are just a way to get around the laws against illegal drugs. But they are making people sick. Some of them can be outright poison.”

Even if the so-called “Causeway Cannibal” wasn’t on designer drugs, that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous, Kaplan said.

On June 14, a Texas man high on synthetic pot attacked a family dog, tearing away at its flesh. Before killing the pet, the man got down on all fours and chased a neighbor while barking and growling.

Bath salts and synthetic marijuana are sold online and behind the counter at convenience stores and gas stations.

“It’s scary it’s available down the street in a local store,” Kaplan said. “Some kid could walk in and buy it like he’s buying a candy bar.”

Kaplan said he was glad to see cities step forward to ban herbal incense and bath salts, but the state needs to move quickly as well.

“We’ve got over 500 cities in Florida,” he said. “Are they all going to pass bans?”

Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Hollywood, Margate and North Lauderdale are planning to ban both designer drugs. The ban in Broward County would apply countywide, except in cities with conflicting rules on the books.

“If one city bans it, they’ll all come to the cities that don’t ban it,” Margate Mayor Pam Donovan said. “I don’t want them doing it on our city. We have to make it safe for our kids.”

In May, Sweetwater became the first city in the state to ban the sale of all incense that’s not on a stick in an effort to outlaw fake weed.

Sunrise followed suit on June 12, becoming the first city in Broward County — and the second in the state — to ban synthetic marijuana. Sunrise plans to outlaw bath salts in July after giving initial approval to a ban Tuesday.

“Those who manufacture and sell these dangerous cocktails of poisons are endangering not only those who take them, but also the public, police officers responding to calls and fire-rescue personnel called to help,” Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan said.

Deerfield Beach banned synthetic marijuana on June 19. Cities considering a similar ban include Coral Springs, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Lighthouse Point, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach and Tamarac.

The DEA has banned the sale of the chemicals used to make both designer drugs. Florida is among several states that have issued a similar ban.

Manufacturers have managed to sidestep the federal and statewide ban by changing the chemical makeup of the products.

Exposure to synthetic marijuana resulted in 2,906 calls to poison control centers across the nation in 2010; 6,959 calls in 2011; and 1,901 calls in the first three months of 2012. Exposure to bath salts resulted in 304 calls in 2010; 6,138 calls in 2011; and 1,007 calls in the first four months of 2012.

Local, national crackdown on synthetic drugs

CHARLOTTE COUNTY –

Protest against herbal incense spice ban

From teens in Charlotte County protesting a convenience store, to the DEA busting at least 90 people who sell these designer drugs, there is a crackdown on synthetic drugs.

Thursday, teens took their concerns about synthetic drugs to the street. They were protesting RJR – a convenience store that Drug Free Charlotte County Director Amity Chandler says sells herbal incense, which is a synthetic drug.

“They have bongs and herbal incense below the gum and candy,” said Chandler said.

She says they also sell it to minors.

“Their perception is that this is legal for them to try and this must be safe because being sold in a store,” she said.

RJR wouldn’t go on camera and said no comment to the protestors, but did tell us what they sell inside is legal.

“Educate community that herbal incense is still for sale not illegal contrary to popular belief,” Chandler said.

Nationwide, President Barack Obama signed a bill into law earlier this month banning the most common synthetic drugs.

From Florida and beyond – during Operation Log Jam – DEA agents arrested at least 90 people and seized millions of packets featuring cartoon characters and catchy names.

The DEA has a stern warning for anyone selling these items.

“You are nothing more than a drug trafficker. We will bring you to justice,” DEA Administer Michele Leonhart.

Spice Lab Raided on Redington Beach

A private home was raided in a region-wide drug bust that targeted makers of synthetic marijuana.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at a home on Gulf Boulevard Wednesday in a region-wide synthetic marijuana raid that targeted operations where the illegal drug allegedly was being made.

The private Redington Beach residence on the 15000 block of Gulf Boulevard was one of a half-dozen places busted by federal agents, with assistance from the Hillsbourgh County Sheriff’s Office.

Seized were tens of thousands of bags of Spice or K2, retail-ready synthetic marijuana products, as well as the materials used to make them. Newly enacted Florida laws make it illegal to produce, possess or sell synthetic marijuana.

Authorities told WTSP that the street value of the drugs seized is in the millions of dollars. Similar sweeps were conducted this week by federal agents across the country.

Search warrants were served at the following locations:

• Private Residence-15708 Gulf Blvd, Redington Beach FL
• Wild Incense Distribution Warehouse-4401 E 10th Ave,Tampa
• Wild Incense Maufacturing Facility-4101 E. 12th Ave, Tampa
• Stop Smoke Shop (Retail Distributor)-10821 N.56th Street, Tampa
• Jonny Clearwater Manufacturing-10134 Fisher Ave, Suite A-2 Brandon FL
• Warehouse-6308 Benjamin Road Suite #710, Tampa

There were no arrests at this time as the nationwide investigation continues.

Synthetic drugs present new problems for probation

Oakland Park resident Jimmy Hewett thought he could smoke Spice even though he was on probation and subject to random drug testing.

He thought wrong.

Hewett is one of the first in Broward County to get in trouble with the court for smoking Spice, a synthetic marijuana – but many people on probation are smoking fake weed and not getting caught.

ad him tested for synthetic marijuana on May 23, two days after he was quoted in the Sun Sentinel saying he smoked 3 grams of Spice a day.

A judge issued a warrant for his arrest on June 12 after a lab in Richmond, Va., confirmed that Hewett had tested positive for Spice.

On Tuesday, Hewett will answer to the court for violating probation.

Because synthetic marijuana is openly sold at gas stations and convenience stores, Hewett says he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong.

That’s the argument his attorney, Andrew Smallman, intends to make.

“For people on probation, in their minds this stuff would be ideal for them to use as a substitute for illegal drugs,” Smallman said. “They can buy it at the store and it’s out in the open. It’s just like buying a cigar or a cigarette.”

Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein said he hasn’t yet seen anyone in Broward charged with possession of Spice. “But I’m sure they’re coming.”

Finkelstein said he would be watching what happens in the Hewett case.

“If I go to 7-Eleven to buy Spice and it’s openly sold and it’s not marketed as mind-altering, why is it I have violated my probation?” Finkelstein said. “The courts are trying to adapt to changes to chemical compounds that are being sold. You have to be specific. You can’t just say you can’t use mind-altering drugs.”

Hewett was arrested in late 2010 for having Temazepam pills in his pocket without proof of a prescription – a third-degree felony with a maximum five-year sentence. The judge gave him a break in December and placed him on probation for two years.

If Hewett is found guilty of violating probation, the court could sentence him to five years in prison, according to his attorney.

Smallman said he hopes to get the warrant dismissed.

“You have to violate probation willfully and substantially,” Smallman said. “I have a hard time seeing how it was willful or substantial if you can buy it from the behind the counter at 7-Eleven.”

Smallman also wants proof that the chemicals found in Hewett’s drug test were on the list of banned compounds.

As soon as federal and state officials outlaw specific compounds used to make synthetic marijuana, new ones show up in stores, tweaked by chemists trying to stay one step ahead of the law.

Even with sophisticated testing, toxicologists are having a tough time detecting those new compounds.

What’s more, the tests are expensive – $200 to $300 – and the state can’t afford to test everyone on probation or parole, experts say.

“Probation officers aren’t going to [routinely] test for this,” said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida.

That’s what Spice users are counting on.

Still, with cities in South Florida lining up to ban synthetic marijuana and bath salts, tests are being conducted among high-risk users, said Jim Hall, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Substance Abuse at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.

“When someone is admitted to probation they are instructed on the court orders,” said Jo Ellyn Rackleff, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections. “One of the standard court orders is that they abide by all laws. And both bath salts and synthetic marijuana are illegal. People on probation know they are not supposed to use mind-altering substances.”

Hewett says he has learned his lesson.

“The older stuff was more like marijuana,” he said. “The newer stuff makes me sick. I can’t take this stuff anymore because I’m on probation.”

Bath Salt Wedding Bouquet: A Fool-Proof Way To Turn Your Wedding Party Into The Donner Party

http://www.beau-coup.com

For any brides-to-be looking to potentially turn their special day into a fucking blood bath, you’re in luck…

As was brought to our attention by a friend who’s about to walk down the aisle — under the subject “Just found a winner for our wedding favors. Let’s get weird…,” — several companies offer bath salt bouquets as gifts for bridal parties.

Granted, bath salts have uses other than to get you high enough to eat people — like, for example, taking baths — but given the seemingly endless headlines about cannibalistic bath salt users, perhaps a mani/pedi might be a more appropriate gift for the gals this wedding season.

For the bargain price of $3.95 each, glowing brides can treat their bridal party to a basket of personalized bath salts.

Here’s the description of the gift from “Beaucoup”:

Bathe your senses in luxury with these personalized bath salt favors. Whether you select a seductive scent for your wedding or a soothing scent for your bridal shower, guests will simply purr with pleasure–even before they’ve popped the cork.

Each bottle can be customized with a single initial, 3-letter monogram or text in the font of your choice. The clear plastic bottles are filled with your choice of colored scented bath salts: pink (pomegranate), white (vanilla), blue (tropical blend), green (aloe), purple (black raspberry), or yellow (almond honey). Each 6-oz. bottle measures 2″W x 4.5″H and is topped with a genuine cork. A black or white satin bow completes the look.

That, of course, is assuming the recipient doesn’t smoke, snort, or inject the gift. If one junkie bridesmaid sees a bottle of bath salts as an invitation to get fucked up on synthetic drugs, your wedding party could end up looking more like the Donner Party.

In the past few months, there have been multiple cases of people using bath salts and then — often times while naked — attempt to eat people…or dogs.

Yesterday, we told you about a woman who got high on bath salts while in the hospital after having a baby. She attacked hospital staff after they found her rolling around naked on the floor of a shower.

On Tuesday, there was the case of Karl Laventure, who was found walking around a Georgia golf course naked. When police showed up, he started rambling about Tupac and Biggie before threatening to eat the cops.

Last week, we told you about a Texas man who ate his family’s dog. He, however, was high on synthetic marijuana, which apparently has the same cannibalistic side-effects as bath salts.

Just a day earlier, we reported on a woman who tried to eat a cop while under the influence of bath salts.

A few weeks earlier, for the second time in less than a month, a Florida man — 26-year-old Charles Baker — was arrested for allegedly taking a bite out someone, also while under the influence of bath salts.

About two weeks before that, a Louisiana man also is suspected of being under the influence of bath salts when he gnawed the face of his neighbor.

And lest we forget the story that kicked off the “Zombie Apocalypse” craze — Miami “zombie” Rudy Eugene, who was suspected to be under the influence of drugs at the time of a brutal cannibalistic attack that left his victim, Ronald Poppo, without a face. Eugene, it turns out, was sober at the time of the attack — an autopsy revealed that the only thing in his system was marijuana.

Again, ladies — you’re probably better off just going with the mani/pedi.

Sheriff asking store owners to pull synthetic marijuana

Deputies are visiting convenience stores throughout Pinellas County and asking the proprietors to remove all synthetic marijuana products from their shelves. Many of them may be illegal, anyway.

PINELLAS COUNTY — Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies are visiting convenience stores passing out a letter.

It asks store owners to voluntarily take synthetic marijuana products off their shelves.

The products are commonly referred to as Spice, K2, incense and loose-leaf incense.

Under a new Florida law that went into effect Monday, 92 chemicals have been added to a list of previously banned synthetic marijuana substances.

Detectives say that isn’t stopping the manufacturers.

“They’re preying on the kids and preying on the people who want to use it, because they’re playing this whack-a-mole game,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “The whack-a-mole game is that the Legislature bans the chemical substances, so they alter the compound, and they alter it slightly to take it outside of what’s banned.

“And then the Legislature bans it again, and then they alter the compound. This really needs to stop.”

Deputies said that if some convenience store owners refuse to voluntarily comply, they will enforce the law.

But another problem is it’s hard to tell just from looking at the product which ones are illegal.

Detectives say they have to send the substance off for testing to see if it includes one of the banned chemicals.

Gulf Boulevard convenience store owner Nazih Tageddine said when the products first came on the market they were a big moneymaker.

“You pay a dollar, you sell it for $10, That’s the problem people don’t want to stop selling it because the profit margin is really, Really big,” Tageddine said.

But when the dangers of the products came to light, Taggedine’s store stopped selling them.

“You hear all these things people getting hurt, people dying and I want to go home and sleep at night. I don’t want to feel bad that somebody died from my store,” Tageddine said.

Deputies say they have approximately 300 to 400 convenience stores to visit in the county. They’re hoping store owners will agree to participate in the voluntary program.

“I think the majority of them want to do the right thing, They’re just looking for a level playing field, so we’re going to make every effort to provide that level playing field,” Gualtieri said. “But if some businesses don’t then, there’s going to be consequences for them.”

Nashua police convince store owners to stop carrying bath salts

NASHUA – Bath salts, K2, spice. All of it should be a lot harder to find in Nashua after police convinced store owners in the city to stop selling the dangerous synthetic drugs.

Nashua police Lt. David Bailey visited 55 independently owned convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops recently and found 11 were selling the amphetamine-like chemical that has been blamed for dozens of bizarre and disturbing attacks across the country.

All of the stores agreed to stop selling the synthetic drugs, which are sold as bath salts, herbal incense, glass cleaner and more, after Bailey told them about their effects. He began visiting the stores after a spike in the number of people overdosing on it in the city, he said.

“We got information about increased problems about bath salts and synthetic marijuana,” Bailey said. “We took a proactive approach in what we were seeing as a pretty dramatic spike.”

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation last month that added 26 substances to the Controlled Drug Substance Act. That should make it more difficult to produce legal versions of the drugs, Bailey said.

A horrifying attack against a homeless man in Miami in May first brought the drugs into the spotlight. Police shot and killed 31-year-old Rudy Eugene after finding him biting off a homeless man’s face on the side of a Florida freeway.

Although bath salts were widely blamed for the “zombie” attack, officials recently determined Eugene was not on the drug when he was killed.

Nevertheless, it grabbed headlines. Since then, dozens of other bizarre incidents, some including cannibalism, have been blamed on the drugs.

Nothing quite that dramatic has happened in Greater Nashua, but there has been an increase of calls for people overdosing on the drug as well as police and EMTs having to deal with combative, violent and unpredictable people high on the drug.

Chris Stawasz, AMR operations manager, said he’s talked with his EMTs about the signs someone exhibits when they are on the drug, what dangers they present and how they should be treated.

“It’s very high at the top of our list right now for potential problems,” he said. “People are extremely violent, unpredictable. It’s a very high level of physical danger in these calls.”

Stawasz said a community-wide meeting between AMR, police, fire and hospital officials will be held soon to talk about how to address the increase in bath salt overdoses.

“Fortunately, we haven’t experienced the really bizarre incidents you read about,” he said. “It’s definitely here. It’s in Nashua. It’s a scary drug.”

Reports of people overdosing on the drug have increased across the state this year, spiking in April, according to data from the Northern New England Poison Control Center.

There were close to 15 calls to the center in April and nearly 10 in May, the latest month for which data was available. The increase in calls began in March 2011 after virtually no reports about the drug from June 2010 until then, according to the NNEPCC data.

The center, which covers New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, took 30 calls about bath salts overdoses in Maine in May 2011, according to the report.

synthetic drug ban

HOLLYWOOD—FLORIDA

Cities are joining a legal crusade to ban bath salts and synthetic marijuana.

City commissioners are poised to ban synthetic marijuana and “bath salts” at their Tuesday meeting, making Hollywood the latest Broward city to jump on the synthetic-drug-ban bandwagon.

Bath salts, touted as fake cocaine, and synthetic marijuana, sold as herbal incense, have gained popularity for recreational drug use.

As a result, poison control centers and emergency rooms nationwide have seen an uptick in calls and treatment because of the drugs’ detrimental effects.

Topping the list of adverse reactions are aggression, extreme paranoia, hostility and hallucinations.

Several Broward cities have rushed to ban the troublesome substances.

“There’s evidence that the accessibility to these products, over the counter at convenience stores and gas stations and so forth, is something that needs to be stopped,” said Commissioner Dick Blattner, who instigated the city ban. “And since other cities are passing similar legislation, we end up being an island in the sea, so to speak, if we don’t follow suit.”

Hollywood is poised to enact its ban as an emergency ordinance, requiring a one-time 2/3 vote of the commission. Violators will face a $500 fine and/or 60 days in jail.

On June 12, Sunrise was the first Broward city — the second in the state after Sweetwater — to ban synthetic marijuana. Deerfield Beach and Lauderhill quickly followed suit.

Also with synthetic pot bans in the works are Coral Springs, Davie,Fort Lauderdale, Lighthouse Point, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach and Tamarac.

Lauderhill’s ban last week on bath salts made it the first Broward city to do so. Sunrise is on its way to doing the same.

Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Margate and North Lauderdale are working toward bans of both substances.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has banned the sale of the chemicals used to make both drugs. Florida is among several states that have done likewise.

In 2011, the state Legislature, banned the chemical compounds that were being marketed as “bath salts.” And this past spring, lawmakers banned 92 additional chemical compounds that state law enforcement had identified as frequently appearing in drugs being marketed as synthetic marijuana.

But manufacturers have managed to sidestep the federal and statewide bans. Almost as soon as a new law gets on the books, law enforcement officials say, chemists alter the chemical composition of the banned substance enough that it can still be legally sold.

Poison control centers nationwide dealt with 2,906 calls in 2010 related to synthetic marijuana exposure; 6,959 calls in 2011; and 1,901 calls in the first three months of 2012.

Exposure to bath salts resulted in 304 calls in 2010; 6,138 calls in 2011; and 1,007 calls in the first four months of 2012.