State: Two Employees At Ft. Laud. Store Sold Synthetic Marijuana
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) - State agents busted a Fort Lauderdale convenience store this week for selling dangerous synthetic marijuana.
Police reports show that agents with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco arrested two people -- Mohammad Ismail and Nasreen Naz.
Court records show both face charges of possessing and selling a controlled substance.
Investigative reports show that state agents seized hundreds of bags of synthetic marijuana from the store. A new state law went into effect earlier this summer which makes it illegal to sell synthetic marijuana.
"To see the arrests happen so quickly is what we were going for," said State Representative Clay Ingram, one of the legislators who drafted the law cracking down on synthetic marijuana. "Retailers realize it's not worth taking the chance of selling it."
CBS 4 News has reported extensively on synthetic marijuana and the dangers associated with it.
"These are products that have become increasingly dangerous in 2012," said Dr. Jim Hall, of Nova Southeastern University, who has studied synthetic marijuana and its' effects.
Hall explained that manufacturers alter the chemical makeup of the drugs to avoid breaking the law. However, Hall said the drugs -- commonly known as Spice -- can cause panic attacks, convulsions, seizures and, in some cases, death.
"These drugs are really poisons," Hall told CBS 4's Carey Codd.
CBS 4 News visited the convenience store and tried to speak with the people who were arrested. However, we were told they were not at work.
