FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Drug agents discovered over $1 million worth of pot and high-potency THC oil inside a shipping container they say was shipped from the West Coast to be sold in metro Atlanta.
Investigators told Channel 2's Tom Regan that the THC vaping oil is the drug local school counselors are most worried about with kids.
Police said the container was dropped off at a warehouse park off Trotters Way in south Forsyth County, where drug dealers believed it wouldn’t be noticed.
Inside was more than 170 pounds of high-grade pot and 1,200 packages of THC vaporizing cartridges.
Each oil cartridge contains 70 to 90 percent pure THC, the chemical that causes a high in marijuana.
Bing Xu told Regan that she runs a mail-order business in a warehouse and distribution center near where the shipping container was delivered.
TRENDING STORIES:
“We never really heard about this one, so we are really shocked,” Xu said.
Authorities arrested Kevin Marrero, 35, of Atlanta. They say Marrero signed for delivery of the shipping container.
Drug addiction counselor Kim Castro told Regan that such high-potency liquid marijuana can be dangerous, especially for kids.
“I can't tell you how many phone calls I have received from families that have a son who has had a psychotic break after vaping high levels of THC and they have had to be stabilized in the hospital," Castro said.
Last May, two Forsyth County high school students were rushed to the hospital after vaping high-potency liquid marijuana in school.
With pot legalized in a growing number of states, many teens underestimate the extreme potency and adverse side effects of consuming highly concentrated THC vaping products that are easy to buy.
“This is not the weed of the '60s, the '70s or the '90s. So, a lot of parents may have smoked pot and said it’s not a big deal. This is 10 times stronger than it was then," Castro said.
She told Regan that parents need to know what their kids are putting in their vaping pens and how it may impact their future development.
“If they do it as teenagers, there's studies that THC can rewire your brain, such that it leads to depression in adulthood," Castro said.
Cox Media Group
