According to Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Federal agents arrested two men for selling more than $1 million worth of synthetic cannabinoids on the Internet. Although the investigation that had led to the arrest of both men turned into a Federal case shortly after it began the New York Police Department played a major role in ending the "threat to public health and safety" that where caused by cannabinoids distribution sites.
The suspected Dealers, Jonathan Riendeau and Jade Plante, allegedly operated three websites that had operated as storefronts for numerous amounts of smokable blends of plant matter that is laced with different synthetic cannabinoids. They may have also distributed the cannabinoids in powder or liquid form. The indictment, however, focused mostly on blends of dried plant material on which they sprayed various synthetic cannabinoids. This blend is often referred to as "spice."
According to the indictment, that the duo allegedly sold dozens of brands of the drug "spice", including "AK-47," "Brainfreeze," "Klimax," "Delirium," "Twilite," "Fucking Crazy," and "Diablo." That list is far from all inclusive. The duo allegedly sold the drugs with the label usually seen on research chemical websites: "not for human consumption." Years ago, internet users suspected that selling uncontrolled analogues (specifically analogs designed to replicate controlled substances) with the above warning would prevent prosecution under the Federal Analog Act. As seen in the RCPowders case, "not for human consumption" provided no legal defense.
The blends had contained the synthetic cannabinoids 5F-ADB-PINACA, AMBFUBINACA, and some more. Some of them have been explicitly scheduled and others fall into the Analog Act's gray area of legality. The indictment had accused the duo of selling 6,000 packages of blends totaling more than $1 million. The products sold had weighed more than 120 kg combined. The duo allegedly sent packages to all 50 states.
Riendeau, a 38-year-old from San Diego, California, got charged with three counts of Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics. Plante, a 39-year-old from Port St. Lucie, Florida, was charged with only one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics. Both men have appeared in court in the Southern District of California, and the Southern District of Florida, respectively. Both of the men will be extradited to New York to face District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The charges will carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Their Distribution Conspiracy has not been linked to any deaths-a fact that their sentence will likely reflect.