Unregulated Cannabis Products - Part 2

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
From the WA and M Studio onthe campus of Florida A and M University.
This is Mary Forum Radio, aweekly conversation on the education and research
of the medical marijuana being conducted atMUNI. Hi, I'm Kiti Otway,
your host for this conversations on Cannabisvirtual form, brought to you by the
Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative atFlorida and M University. In this conversation,

(00:26):
we're talking about the dangers of unregulatedcannabis. So let's talk and learn
about this subject with our guests.Ken Villa is a retired law enforcement officer
with over three decades of service inthe Collier County Sheriff's Office. He is
a certified dear Officer and has heldpositions as a school resource officer, a

(00:47):
SWAT team member, and a gangliaison. He is currently working as a
consultant and trainer with the Florida Departmentof Law Enforcement. HERPL Villa, Welcome
to the show. Thank you forhaving me, Heidi. How you doing
good afternoon? Yes, thank you. Our other is Leslie Trey Miller IID
a newly retired sergeant from the Cityof Tampa Police Department, where he served

(01:12):
for more than twenty five years.Sergeant Miller worked in narcotics and was a
detective for twelve years. He's aproud graduate of Florida and M University,
and he chose his career path tobridge the gap between law enforcement and the
black community. Sergeant Miller, welcometo the show. Thank you for having

(01:33):
me after you and never one.To everyone joining us on this live program,
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(01:53):
We also want you to tell uswhat you think about this forum by
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After the live program, your namewill be entered into a drawing on April
eleventh, twenty twenty four to wina one hundred dollars gift card provided by
one of Varie's partners. Now,let's start this conversation on cannabis. So

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can you all share some of yourlike like investigations that you don't you kind
of touched on it a little bit, but you know some other experiences or
investigations you've done related to legal cannabiseither being produced or sold in Florida or
even shipped into Florida. As I'mstarted in narcotics down here in Tampa,

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we used to get a lot ofgrow houses. So what people would do
is they'll runt out a whole entirehouse. And it was it was more
of you know, they'll run outof house, they'll dig into the electricity
if it wasn't above the lines,now tapp into each neighbor's electricity bill.
Because what happens is if you havea marijuana grow house, your electricity bill

(02:58):
will peak because you'll have to havethe right lighting, the right irrigation system
that's in house. There's basically afarms in the house. So you will
get a whole entire house with maybeone room that's not occupied. Then it
would be all marijuana. So youwill have something like maybe a thousand plants
in one house. And if yougot the right people that's making the farmer,

(03:23):
the agriculture that's taking care of theseplants, they can have multiple houses.
And then you know they could turnaround and make their profit and do
it all over again, so thatthey would just go from house to house,
so they would just keep that onehouse and grow it. They would
have multiple houses. And the waywe would usually catch them is I remember

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one instance, a fire happened atthe house. So when Tampa Fire Rescue
got to that house, they noticedsomething was going on with the electricity,
the electricity box, and they makeentry to the house and they see all
these plants. They call us andthen sometimes we use confidential performers. They
would let us know that, hey, you need to look at this house.
Went to this house and I sawa bunch of plants growing in the
house, So then we would goingto that house. Now, most of
the time, nobody lived in thesehouses. They were just houses basically runted

(04:08):
out or purchased for the sole purposeof going marijuana. Right, That's what
we've seen. Same thing. Yeah, And the thing about it, these
people who are who are the farmers, they are very smart. They know
how to they if they've grown inthis marijuana like this, they could probably
run a whole farm growing strongberries orangesor whatever else. So that's some of
the first things that we saw.But smell, I mean new to me.

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Do you can does the house reap? I mean, yeah, it'll
reek, but most of the timethey don't. They don't put the When
they get these houses, they wouldtry to find the most clean, the
cleanest neighborhood where it's not like drama. I mean, et apes the monographs

(04:56):
and make sure everything is taken careof, because you don't want that attention.
You don't want that attention, youknow. But the thing is,
if I want that money, youcan't do this because it's illegal. If
I went by with something that couldpick up the heat from that house,
and I was in a helicopter andI'm trying to figure out how much heat
was coming from the house, it'sa little be overwhelming with read Wow.
So and that's why they tap intoelectricity, because you don't want to have

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an electricity bill that's in over fivehundred dollars spite, because by that time,
the electricity company might notify longforce like, hey, you might want to
look at this house because electric Yeah, that's why I was going to say.
Usually there's a notification coming from theelectric company that tells you, hey,
listen, you just might want tokeep an eye on this. What's
going on. Then that's when yourvice in our cots unit, they'll start

(05:40):
talking to CEI's or confidential informants gofrom there. And of course you have
a whole thing where you get agrow house, you know, and the
grow houses or they're run that way, but I mean their own lighting and
everything. And he says houses arepurchased or rented just for that for that
reason. Yeah, Ken, haveyou did you do any investigations when when
you were in law enforcement or evenin your work on the SWAT team or

(06:04):
anything like that related to cannabis illegalin SWAT, we do a thing and
and Trey knows what we're talking aboutwhen when he's in narcotics, you know,
we do things that were called reversals. That's when it was a lot
easier on the streets at the time, when they would sell it hand to
hand, you know, they'd sellit from it from the dealer right to
the person wanting it, you know, and of course we'd come out,

(06:25):
we'd make an arrest and we moveon to the next one. That's you
know. But as far as uhinvestigations, when it comes to that,
we if we encountered something that thatwe had to investigate. We realized there's
probably a bigger fish out there somewhere, so we would turn that information over
to our narcotics unit, let themgo with it, because we didn't want

(06:46):
to ruin anything they may have goingon, like they may be looking into
a growhouse, or they may belooking into dealing with the confidential informant that's
that's got that that that person that'sbringing the drugs in or has that website
that's delivering whatever's happening. You know, as far as working as an Serona
school, we encountered this all thetime. We'll arrest somebody that may have

(07:06):
or detain somebody that may have undertwenty grands of marijuana. It's a misdemeanor,
right, and we call it acivil citation we'll give them. Of
course, they're going to deal withthe school aspect when it comes to discipline,
because the schools have what's called zerotolerance, right, so they're going
to deal with the drug end ofthe school. They may get expelled,
they may get moved to an alternativeprogram, whatever it is. But on

(07:26):
our end, as far as legalthere's times where we may give them a
citation. They're going to get chargedwith that and have to do weekend work
or something. But of course anythingover twenty then we're dealing with felony on
school grounds and then all bets areoff then. So yeah, yeah,
we've made arrest too. When itcomes to kids carrying marijuana on campus,
that happens, and cannabis, youknow, is a Schedule one drug at

(07:49):
the federal level, and there areplaces that if you go with cannabis,
including a school, that's a federaloffense. That's true. Cannabis on a
school and any any any institution thatreceives federal funds is a federal event.
That's what it is. Receiving thosefederal funds is what That's a ticket right
there. Once you receive those fundsthat comes into play. Yeah. Yeah,

(08:13):
it's it's like having somebody says theyhave marijuana because they have a medical
card. But there's a whole procedureyou have to go through, I mean,
to bring it in you know,administrator can't be involved. You have
to have a caregiver handle it.You know, just because you have a
medical condition and you need that thatthat cannabis for your condition doesn't on campus.

(08:37):
Has to be clear. The medicalcannabis is also illegal on campus.
So absolutely, yeah, absolutely right. I mean that's not an excuse although
they try to use it, youknow, I you know, I have
a medical card. Okay, youstill can't be walking around like you got
it from a drug dealer, youknow, or whatever. That just doesn't
happen. Yeah, that's that's stillthere's still relations in the process they have

(09:01):
to follow, right, Yeah,that's so interesting. I want to talk
a little bit more about, youknow, how you've seen cannabis use change
and become you know, it seemsused more widely, not only because it's
being legalized in states across the country, but you know, just in general,
the mainstream I think you referenced earlier, you know, music and media

(09:24):
you know kind of you know,influences the decisions that people make. So
what are the biggest differences you allhave seen when it comes to recreational cannabis
use that you didn't see, youknow, ten twenty years ago. Well,
some of our music it glorifies themarijuana usage. So like I said

(09:48):
before, it's one of those things, you know, pure pressure. If
you got one friend who isn't itand they say, you know, hey,
it's nothing. I mean some peoplebodies react to it differently, but
you know, everybody's you know,glorifying the high, you know. So
I've seen that a lot more fromme growing up, and the music has

(10:11):
changed, and it seems like everybodyglorifies, hey, get high. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, the same they'reglorifying that. It's a it's it's
it's part of that peer pressure ofwhat he talks about. You know.
One of our lessons that we thatwe teach in the middle school is about
norms and beliefs. All right,it is this normal, all right?

(10:33):
Well to some people, this iswhat they see on a daily basis,
their peers, their friends, theirfamily using it. This is what they
do, all right, But wehave to try to change that a little
bit. It's it's so common nowfor some people because yeah, high schoolers
talk about the up to obtain marijuanais so much easier than it was years

(10:54):
ago, all right. So yeah, it's there, it's readily available.
We just and and getting it unregulatedis what's causing a problem because we don't
know how that slays, we don'tknow the dangers in that, and of
course it's criminal. So yeah,well, well how do you teach kids?
You know, you've worked for somany years, you know, really

(11:15):
educating youth about the dangers of drugs. You know what were some of the
key things for if we have parentslistening or watching, or caregivers listening and
watching, you know what are someof the things that they can share with
their the youth that they influence orcare for to let them know that,
hey, don't do drugs. Don'tuse cannabis. That's no, No,
you're right, don't do don't usedrugs like back that campaign years ago.

(11:39):
Just say no, believe it ornot, that's that's true. But I'm
going to tell you when you walkinto a classroom and you talk to these
kids, I don't care if it'sfrom elementary to high school, and you
you you asked these kids are drugsbad? They're all going to tell you.
Yeah, Then why are you doingit? Why? Because it's pure
pressure. Because there's addiction, allright, So what do you tell them
about? You tell them about theconsequences. There are consequences to your decision

(12:01):
making if you could make the rightdecisions and tell them about starting early.
You tell them about the dangers thatthese drugs do. It's not just about
getting high, which is what somebodyadults are preaching. It's about getting high,
you know, Okay, and that'scool within the music, you know,
it's how high you can get,Just like Trey was talking about.
That's not what's about. There's theirdangers in there. I mean what it

(12:22):
does to difficulty focusing and maintaining attentionand memory and their learning process and the
effect that it has on the brain. And they're physical, you know,
by smoking, it causes damage tothe lungs and their kidneys and their livery.
If you could tell them that,kids will listen to you and get

(12:43):
grossed out, because most kids arevisual learners, okay, but if you
could be interactive with them, andyou could show them, and you show
them by a picture or a movieor something that this is what could happen
to you by using marijuana, especiallyif somebody laces it or if somebody does
something, this is what can happento you body. They're going to remember
that. They're going to go,well, that's gross. I don't want
that. That happened to me,And that will stay with them for a

(13:05):
while. Now once they get intothe older ages in high school, that
eleventh twelfth grade where they're almost adults, some of that decision making, it
becomes a little bit it's a littledifferent because they want to fit in,
because the peer and the norms andbeliefs are a little different. So that
we try to hit them early.Absolutely, yeah, try in your experience.

(13:26):
I'm sure you probably engage youth.What did you kind of I mean,
I would try to let them knowthat, hey, sometimes marijuana could
be a gateway drug that can leadto other drugs. I would try to
show them without disrespecting the person oneat it, show meth at it,
show cocaine at it, and my, my, my brinking of drugs that

(13:50):
can be most addictive. It's youropioids and meth and then your cocaine,
and then you come back down tomarijuana, you know. So I'll try
to show them that you don't wantto be like this, You don't want
to get to that point in yourlife. Whereas the addiction that's taken over
because an addict, seeing an addictthat just at rock bottom, it is

(14:13):
scary. It's one of those thingsthat you never want to be that person.
But we have so many of these, you know, people that at
rock bottom that because they started outwith something and then it turned into a
major addiction that's taken over their lives. Yeah, I'm sure you guys have

(14:33):
seen some things that you probably can'teven share with our listeners and viewers here.
So can you share your perspective onwhy public education about cannabis used,
especially when we talk about unregulated cannabis, is so important at this time.
And Ken, I'm gonna start withyou because you were in the schools and

(14:56):
you taught there, so you knowwhy is this Why are these con so
important to make sure that people understandthe dangers of unregulated cannabis because of the
the effects that it has on themand the effects that has in their future
and what it could do and howit could could destroy the brain, to
destroy families, it causes domestic issues, and what it doesn't If they want

(15:20):
to move on and they get caughtand they get arrested or they get in
trouble legally or through the school,that affects their future, right And that's
that's Any school that allows a drugeducation program to get in and speak to
the youth, that's that's huge andthat's important. I mean, because those

(15:41):
are the ones we're modeling and we'retrying to foster those relationships. We're trying
to model those kids for that nextlevel, Right, those are the ones
that are eventually going to take overfor us. And you know, if
we could we could help guide themon the right path, that that's I
think that's a that's a big step. Yeah. Try. Yeah, our
group can guide our kids on themthat's the right path. Rather let them

(16:03):
know that, Hey, if youare going to do it, trying to
get something that's regulated, so youknow what you're getting, instead of going
through the weed man who probably gotus from this person over there, probably
got from that person over there,So you know what you're getting. Because
always I used to tell a lotof the youth that you know, I
knew smoke marijuana if I had encounterswith them, And I will tell anybody
this quiet encounters with them. Getyour card. If you want to smoke

(16:26):
marijuana, get a card, andso you know where you're getting it from
instead of going through this person thatyou you know, you don't know where
they're getting it from. Yeah,and you can go to the Office of
Medical Marijuana used to find out whatqualifying conditions are. The qualified physicians that
can help make recommendations to make surethat if you you're using it, you

(16:48):
know, because you may have anxiety, or you're having PTSD or you having
pain issues, at least you knowwhat you're getting to your point. To
your point, So, do youhave any resource sources that you share with
people when it comes to you know, just understanding drug use in general,
just being aware, any resources thatyou all provide them just so that they

(17:11):
can become more self educated on theissue. So before I retire, Tenth
Police Department implement it something where weactually would talk to our opioids opioid users,
where we would try to get theminto treatment, and we had severes
that worked with us also. Sowith that we were we would go to

(17:34):
some of the people who will getthe NARCAN deployments. So we would put
out the resources like, hey,we want we want to help you get
in the treatment programs and everything else. So that was one of the biggest
resources that I had right before Iretire. Sometimes it wouldn't just be about
the opioids. It would be ifyou're an addict or something to whatever,

(17:55):
come to us. It's not aboutus doing some type of law enforcement action.
It was about us trying to helpyou. So that was the other
side of of the narcotics that TenthPolice Department had implemented, and it seems
to be going for the good.Is it very hard? Yeah, because
a lot most of the time,someone who's addicted to any type of drug,
they don't want to admit it.They want to say, I got
to handle on this. I cantake care of do it on my own.

(18:15):
I use it when I want to. I don't use it one but
me looking at you, I'm like, no, you you need some help.
So it may take a lot ofconvincing. But the officers and the
sevilas who they had those positions atten Police Apartment, they're doing a good
job. They're doing a good jobat handling it. I mean, it
can be tedious because sometimes you mightget somebody in the treatment and they may

(18:37):
not do well with it and theypass away. So it can take an
effect. But you know, it'sjust one of those things you just keep
going until you, you know,do as much as you can. Yeah.
Yeah. Any any resources that yourecommend, well, we do the
same thing. I'm sorry, Trevor, you still no we have a you
know, will j Rect parents andWe'll direct people to watch the social media

(19:03):
because a lot of them could geton social media and that is that's there,
that's their go to anyway, Right, listen, if you're gonna if
you're gonna watch social media, thenwatch some of these because we started a
campaign here called uh It's Lethal Drugson Callier and all campuses, right and
watch some of those videos. That'simportant. It talks about opioid use and

(19:25):
fetanol in drugs in cannabis, andthen we'll direct them to it. We
have a call your Resource Center thatwill that that is with the Sheriff's office
and of course gives them different resourcesaround town that they could go seek help
and for their addiction and where toturn to from there. Yeah. Yeah,
Well, this conversation was so richand I just really appreciate you all

(19:47):
sharing your experiences in law enforcement whenit comes to unregulated cannabis. Would you
all like to share any kind ofclosing thoughts for our listeners, just kind
of one more thing they need toknow when it comes to the dangers of
unregulated cannabis. Can anything you wantto add, but when it comes to
the dangers of unregulated cannabis, realizewhat you're putting in your body. This

(20:07):
body is like it's a beautiful machine. Okay. And if you and if
you're going to choose to use somethingthat's unregulated, that could be tampered with,
you're playing Russian roulette with your future. Realize what it could do to
you. And it may be Seea lot of times when I'm talking about
the youth, primarily they're looking forthat immediate reaction, that immediate gratification.

(20:30):
They're going to get that high forthe next fifteen minutes. You don't know
if that's going to have effect onyou for the next year, two years,
or the rest of your life.So realize that there's a consequence of
that, all right. And it'snot just about saying no, that is
truly outdated, all right. It'sabout making good decisions and just being a
good person, all right, andmaking decisions that will affect the right decision

(20:53):
that affect you for the rest ofyour life. Try closing thoughts. Yeah,
Like I say, your body,agree your body as a temple.
Once you start getting things, gettingyour drugs, it could be marijuana on
up to whatever. You start gettingit from something that's not regulated. You
don't know what you're getting. Youdon't know how it sluggled into the United
States. It can be up somebody'sbody. Just the way it's produced.

(21:17):
You never know what you're getting ifit's unregulated. If I was a marijuana
smoke, I would rather go toa regulated person and then I have the
potency that getting it from something that'sunregulated. But you got to make that
choice what you're putting in your body, because you know, you don't want
to get an overdose because you gotsome marijuana it's late with lace, was
fentanyl, or you got something that'slace with heroin or even LSD. I

(21:42):
mean, I've seen all of that, you know, as a police officer,
and one thing about fentanyl is oneof the most potent drugs out there,
and seeing marijuana lace with fentanel,you don't need a lot to die.
It could be less than the sizeof opinion, and you know,
it's just something that is overwhelming.That's a lot that's happening in the United

(22:03):
States where we do have a fitnelcrisis and these days they're putting in in
everything. So when you get thatunrailated marijuanna, you never know what you're
getting. Wise words We're Corporate Villaand Sergeant Miller. Thank you so much
for being guests on this Conversations onCannabis virtual form, brought to you by
the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiativeat Florida and M University. Thank you

(22:27):
to everyone watching this program. Tellus what you think about this form by
completing the survey that will be postedin the comment boxes on YouTube and Facebook
after this live program. If youcomplete the survey, your name will be
entered into a drawing on April eleventh, twenty twenty four, to win a
one hundred dollars gift card provided byone of Mary's partners. We also wanted

(22:48):
to encourage you to go to theFlorida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana
Use website to learn how to obtaina legal medical marijuana card in the state
of Florida. I also encourage youto go to Florida and M University's Merry
website to learn more about this initiative, its educational programs, and additional information
about cannabis use in Florida. Thankseverybody. The views and opinions of our

(23:17):
invited guests are not necessarily the viewsand opinions of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University,
or the Medical Marijuana Education and ResearchInitiative