Hoboken Cops Make 'Fake Pot' Bust at Residents' Request

It may be “fake” weed, but it’s still illegal.

Responding to “numerous complaints from Hoboken residents and local businesses,” Hoboken police arrested two men for the distribution and use of synthetic cannabis in the area of 8th and Washington streets on Wednesday.

According to police, detectives saw Joseph Christman, 41, of North Bergen, make a “hand to hand transaction typical of a narcotic transaction” to Kenny Roberts, 38, of New York.

When stopped, Roberts was found in possession of a large, green pouch protruding from his cargo shorts pocket. After a search, detectives found a zip lock bag of synthetic marijuana labeled “Train Wrecked Skunk.”

Detectives placed both men under arrest.

Roberts was charged with distribution of a synthetic cannabinoid and distribution of a synthetic cannabinoid within 1,000 feet of All Saints Episcopal Day School.

Christman was charged with possession of a synthetic cannabinoid, and was also found to have two outstanding warrants out of Jersey City and Bloomfield.

BANNED IN NEW JERSEY

The active chemicals in synthetic marijuana have been banned federally since 2010, and have been illegal in New Jersey since 2013.

According to a NJ Court memo:

“A person who manufactures or sells one ounce or more of synthetic marijuana, including adulterants and dilutants, is guilty of a crime of the second degree. A person who manufactures or sells less than one ounce of synthetic marijuana, including adulterants and dilutants, is guilty of a crime of the third degree.”

In addition, a person who possesses one ounce or more of synthetic marijuana can be charged with a third degree crime, while possession of less than an ounce is a fourth degree crime.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there have been 67 calls made to poison control centers in New Jersey for synthetic cannabis-related incidents this year.

While “synthetic marijuana” is often marketed as an alternative to cannabis, the active chemicals commonly found in its commercial varieties are completely different from Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of true marijuana.

“A large and complex variety of synthetic cannabinoids, most often cannabicyclohexanol, JWH-018, JWH-073, or HU-210, are used in an attempt to avoid the laws that make cannabis illegal, making synthetic cannabis a designer drug,” states Wikipedia.