Synthetic marijuana has made plenty of headlines recently, with four confirmed deaths allegedly coming as a result of the fake pot, and now the dangerous substances have made it to west central Illinois.
With over 100 cases of people bleeding from their eyes, nose and mouth have been reported in association with fake pot, the vast majority of said cases were reported to have occurred in either Chicago or the Peoria and Tazewell County areas. According to the Jacksonville Journal Courier, two Missouri residents were stopped in Pittsfield early last month, and eventually were found to be in possession of nearly 100 packets of the synthetic cannabinoids.
Following a traffic stop on April 5th, Pittsfield Police arrested 42-year old Ryan Waters, and 60-year old Michael Frye, both of Troy, Missouri. Upon an investigation, law enforcement discovered 96 packages, or more than 750 grams, of what’s suspected to be synthetic cannabinoids.
Pittsfield Police discovered that Waters, the driver of the vehice, had a revoked license, which led to authorities conducting a search of the vehicle. That search led to the discovery of the 96 packages and 767 grams of what was initial believed to be synthetic cannabinoids, however it was not officially confirmed to be synthetic pot until after the substance had gone through lab testing and analysis, according to the paper.
Results from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab revealed that the cannabinoids were in fact illegal, and a police investigation alleges that Waters and Frye had purchased the synthetic pot from Springfield and were in the process of transporting it back to Troy, Missouri.
Once the substance had been officially identified, warrants were issued for both Frye and Waters on Monday, with both alleged of possession of a controlled substance. Neither of the suspects had been arrested as of yesterday, according to the paper, however law enforcement agencies in their hometown of Troy have been notified.