potpourri problem

[mhuzinec]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Hello. I am from Pa, and any help would be greatly appreciated. As I stated I live in Pa, which has passed a bill banning synthetic marijuana and bath salts. I purchased some "powerful potpourri" from a local head shop which claims it is legal in all 50 states. You can also order this product online, again which claims to be 100% legal in all 50 states. After smoking some, I had an extremely bad reaction to it, and honestly thought I was going to die. I had seizures, vomiting, trouble breathing, and apparently a panic attack. My fiancee called 911. And the local police came. Anyways, he issued, by mail, a citation for disorderly conduct, even though I was alone in my own home. I plead "Not Guilty" and had my appearance before the magistrate today. The citation also had a complete different first name on it. (William- my name is Mike). The officer withdrew the citation and says he now intends to cite me for synthetic marijuana instead! I showed them all the copies I had printed off the internet, showing that this product is supposedly legal. I gave them a list of the chemicals Pa banned and showed them that this product contains none of those. However it seems to me that he is pressing charges just based on "synthetic marijuana is synthetic marijuana" regardless that it is a legally sold product. Any advice on how to handle this matter? Thanks-Mike

 

[Zigner]

Get an attorney -

And stop getting high

 

[Isis1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Hello. I am from Pa, and any help would be greatly appreciated. As I stated I live in Pa, which has passed a bill banning synthetic marijuana and bath salts. I purchased some "powerful potpourri" from a local head shop which claims it is legal in all 50 states. You can also order this product online, again which claims to be 100% legal in all 50 states. After smoking some, I had an extremely bad reaction to it, and honestly thought I was going to die. I had seizures, vomiting, trouble breathing, and apparently a panic attack. My fiancee called 911. And the local police came. Anyways, he issued, by mail, a citation for disorderly conduct, even though I was alone in my own home. I plead "Not Guilty" and had my appearance before the magistrate today. The citation also had a complete different first name on it. (William- my name is Mike). The officer withdrew the citation and says he now intends to cite me for synthetic marijuana instead! I showed them all the copies I had printed off the internet, showing that this product is supposedly legal. I gave them a list of the chemicals Pa banned and showed them that this product contains none of those. However it seems to me that he is pressing charges just based on "synthetic marijuana is synthetic marijuana" regardless that it is a legally sold product. Any advice on how to handle this matter? Thanks-Mike

wow. i hate to bring the bearer of bad news but....just because the site CLAIMS to have a legal product and are selling it legally doesn't mean it is so.

i'll even give you a perfect example...

just yesterday we had a young man post on this very forum asking if what he wanted to do was legal. well, after some research it turns out what he was already doing was illegal. his site on e-bay even stated the products and purchases were legal. no, they weren't.

and yes, you would still be held responsible of a lab test shows that what you are ingesting is in fact illegal. even if the item was illegally labeled.

you definitely need an attorney. and some lab tests on the sample.

 

[mhuzinec]

I probably should have just went with the disorderly conduct. However i figured it would either end up guilty or not guilty. Not this **** storm. Not that it makes it right, but this was a one time occurance. I needed a root canal very badly, a hoped this would help with the pain. I just don't understand how possessing it makes me a criminal, but I can walk into the store and buy it with no issues?

Is there any sort of time frame that this needs to be handled from, from the time of the actual incident?