GLADSTONE, Mo. — Independent convenience stores on both sides of the state line got a visit they weren’t expecting from police on Tuesday. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies from Missouri and Kansas executed 45 search warrants Tuesday morning looking for synthetic drugs.
The investigation began six months ago and included more than 100 undercover buys at stores selling packets of K2 or synthetic marijuana.
“You know I don’t think anybody knows how really dangerous this stuff is. I get calls all times from moms, dads, aunts, uncles saying that they’re kid got wrapped up in the middle of this stuff ,” said Sergeant Brad Dumit with the Kansas City, Missouri Vice and Narcotics Squad.
He said store owners have continued to sell synthetic marijuana because they haven’t faced any legal consequences and the profit margins are huge.
“They don’t really care who they’re selling it to and what goes on with it and they’re making fistfuls of dollars and that’s really what it boils down to,” Sgt. Dumit said.
Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Hunt said he’s ready to go after store owners who’ve ignored Missouri’s 2011 law banning synthetic drugs.
“Most of them keep it behind the counter because they know it’s illegal. A lot of the times when you walk in there you have to know what you’re asking for and that tells you a lot right there; that it’s not out in the open anymore,” Hunt said.
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