CHEROKEE COUNTY, SC (WSPA) – An upstate sheriff and residents are speaking out after a recent drug bust that netted 15 pounds of marijuana and hundreds of marijuana-infused foods.
“Chocolate cookies, oh my goodness,” said Cherokee County resident Janet Bryant as she looked at photos of the items. “That makes me sick because kids could get hold of it.”
A tip about illegal activities led deputies to a home on Crenshaw Road near Cowpens this week.
They found 44 glass jars with marijuana laced products and almost $8,000 in cash.
Michael Dower has since been charged.
The sheriff says the product packaging is dangerous for children.
“When you look at the warning labels, they’re almost silly. It tells you that it’s for medical use only,” said Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller. “When I look at xanax and lortab and oxycodone and blood pressure medicine and other medicines I don’t see them packaged this way.”
The bust was welcomed by some residents.
“That’s always good. That’s that much less that’s on the street,” said Cherokee County Resident David Wray.
One comment on our WSPA Facebook page said, “I’ll be impressed when they are seizing the real drugs… meth, heroine, etc.”
Another comment stated, “…it is not what is killing everyone.. u can go to Colorado and buy it everyday all day..”
“What happens in our society when we have a group of people that come forward and says meth has medical benefits for me? Are we going to make meth legal too?” said Sheriff Mueller.
According to the Associated Press, medical professionals, military veterans and other medical marijuana advocates met Tuesday at the statehouse to support lawmakers’ efforts to pass the Compassionate Care Act.
Lawmaker says SC medical marijuana bill sensible
The AP reports the bill would allow cannabis use for terminal, debilitating medical conditions such as cancer or chronic diseases that could be treated with opioids. It would allow patients to purchase up to 2 ounces (57 grams) of marijuana or its equivalent every two weeks, if prescribed by a doctor.
“This [referring to drug bust] is what’s already filtered its way into our community and it’s not legal. It’s illegal,” said Mueller. “We will be flooded and inundated with this type of garbage if our legislators keep moving forward with this bill.”
Mueller said investigators do not believe the products seized were made in Cherokee County, but instead shipped there from a state where marijuana is legal, so federal investigators are involved in that aspect of the case.