23536
Bluelight Crew
http://newsok.com/synthetic-pot-cases-hard-to-prosecute-lawyer-says/article/3861874
NORMAN — In March, police raided Dennis and Christie England's shop on the fringes of historic downtown Norman and effectively shut the business down, accusing the pair of selling dangerous synthetic marijuana to the public.
The couple was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance within 2,000 feet of a park. Before they opened Ancient Aromatherapy in January, the Englands had operated Sugar, a bakery that specialized in high-end wedding cakes, for several years out of the same location.
Norman police had watched the couple's business for weeks before they raided it, even warning the Englands to stop selling the synthetic marijuana, which was being sold under such names as “Cloud 9,” “Mad Hatter” and “Kush.”
During an interview with The Oklahoman in April, Norman police Detective Jeff Puckett seemed confident the Englands would pay the price for selling a product that he said is known to cause serious problems to users when abused.
Puckett seemed confident even though XLR-11 — the chemical compound present in the hundreds of grams of synthetic marijuana seized at the Englands' shop in March — wasn't even on Oklahoma's ban substance list.
“The way our statutes are written, we have a couple of different ways to go after them,” Puckett said. “We have a synthetic drug statute and we have a statute for controlled (substances). So, every time we have a new substance, it will end up on our controlled list.”
Yet after a June 24 preliminary hearing before a judge in Cleveland County District Court, the case against the couple — who has since lost everything — was dismissed.
A March 1 report submitted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which tested roughly seven grams of products described as “Zero Gravity Potpourri Juicy Fruit” and “Zero Gravity Potpourri Watermelon,” seemed to hint at trouble for the prosecution.
“Instrumental analysis indicates the presence of an isomer of XLR-11,” Kevin Kramer, criminalistics administrator for OSBI, wrote in the report. “However, this could not be confirmed.”
The Englands' lawyer said this storyline isn't an uncommon one in Oklahoma.
“They're nearly impossible to prosecute,” the couple's attorney Jack Dempsey Pointer said about synthetic marijuana cases.
“It's a matter of them actually confirming it's a banned substance that is giving investigators a hard time.”
The case against the Englands is a prime example of this apparently growing problem.
The story continues: http://newsok.com/synthetic-pot-cases-hard-to-prosecute-lawyer-says/article/3861874
NORMAN — In March, police raided Dennis and Christie England's shop on the fringes of historic downtown Norman and effectively shut the business down, accusing the pair of selling dangerous synthetic marijuana to the public.
The couple was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance within 2,000 feet of a park. Before they opened Ancient Aromatherapy in January, the Englands had operated Sugar, a bakery that specialized in high-end wedding cakes, for several years out of the same location.
Norman police had watched the couple's business for weeks before they raided it, even warning the Englands to stop selling the synthetic marijuana, which was being sold under such names as “Cloud 9,” “Mad Hatter” and “Kush.”
During an interview with The Oklahoman in April, Norman police Detective Jeff Puckett seemed confident the Englands would pay the price for selling a product that he said is known to cause serious problems to users when abused.
Puckett seemed confident even though XLR-11 — the chemical compound present in the hundreds of grams of synthetic marijuana seized at the Englands' shop in March — wasn't even on Oklahoma's ban substance list.
“The way our statutes are written, we have a couple of different ways to go after them,” Puckett said. “We have a synthetic drug statute and we have a statute for controlled (substances). So, every time we have a new substance, it will end up on our controlled list.”
Yet after a June 24 preliminary hearing before a judge in Cleveland County District Court, the case against the couple — who has since lost everything — was dismissed.
A March 1 report submitted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which tested roughly seven grams of products described as “Zero Gravity Potpourri Juicy Fruit” and “Zero Gravity Potpourri Watermelon,” seemed to hint at trouble for the prosecution.
“Instrumental analysis indicates the presence of an isomer of XLR-11,” Kevin Kramer, criminalistics administrator for OSBI, wrote in the report. “However, this could not be confirmed.”
The Englands' lawyer said this storyline isn't an uncommon one in Oklahoma.
“They're nearly impossible to prosecute,” the couple's attorney Jack Dempsey Pointer said about synthetic marijuana cases.
“It's a matter of them actually confirming it's a banned substance that is giving investigators a hard time.”
The case against the Englands is a prime example of this apparently growing problem.
The story continues: http://newsok.com/synthetic-pot-cases-hard-to-prosecute-lawyer-says/article/3861874
