Twelve individuals were arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s department in connection with the sale of the imitation marijuana product, K2 earlier today. K2 is a product brand of what law enforcement labels “imitation or fake marijuana”. The arrests came after undercover officers were sold K2 during a police orchestrated reverse sting operation. Arrest warrants have been issued for an additional person who is now out of the state.
The arrestees are being charged with possession and sale of an imitation controlled substance, a third-degree felony. Most of the store employees who were in compliance told undercover detectives they either no longer sold the product, or never sold it, according to deputies.
The crackdown began last month when Polk County law-enforcement agencies became the first in the state to challenge sales of so-called synthetic marijuana products sold as incense. Florida’s Drug Policy Advisory Council recently urged the Florida Legislature to join a growing number of states in banning the substances. Since that has not happened, Polk officials are using an existing statute that makes it illegal to sell “imitation controlled substances.”
The products, usually sold at small gasoline stations and mom-and-pop food stores, are sprayed with synthetic “cannabinoids” and can be purchased legally as incense.
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