Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Fentanyl Tears Apart a Community Suffering From Addiction
In certain parts of Florida, fentanyl is as ubiquitous as reptiles far from their native range who have found a fertile breeding ground in the Sunshine State. Everyone knows someone who died an untimely death because of opioids and others separated by their addiction from the ability to work and to repair their relationships… Read More »
Fort Myers Man Wanted for Selling Drugs Near a Church
In November 2024, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation known as Operation Paradise City, in which they arrested more than 50 people on suspicion of buying or selling cocaine. One of the defendants that they could not find was Kalvin Jones, who was already known to law enforcement in Lee and Charlotte… Read More »
Can You Call the Police When You Have Drugs in Your Possession?
Ten years after cannabis decriminalization initiatives began to gain traction, it is clear that legalizing weed was not a miraculous, peaceful resolution to the War on Drugs. It has protected people who use cannabis to manage chronic health conditions from constant harassment by police, and it has acknowledged that, like it or not, many… Read More »
Juvenile Drug Court Is Far From the Worst-Case Scenario
Many teenagers consume alcohol and cannabis out of curiosity, but when minors get in trouble with the law because of drugs, it is usually a sign of a deeper problem. You often see news stories about people in their early 20s, or even younger, getting arrested on charges of drug trafficking or for repeat… Read More »
Psilocybin Mushrooms Test Positive for LSD in Florida Crime Labs
The biggest danger of fentanyl is that it is almost invisible. A tiny grain of fentanyl powder, smaller than a grain of sand, can produce effects as strong as a commercially produced oxycodone pill, and even though Floridians’ math scores may be abysmal, drug dealers understand the economic implications of this. Fentanyl can turn… Read More »
Tianeptine, a Drug of Pharmacological and Legal Contradictions
If you are confused about federal and state drug laws, it isn’t just because you need to do fewer drugs. The laws make little sense, and sometimes they even contradict each other directly. For example, cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance at the federal level, which means that it is always an illegal… Read More »
Seven Hydroxy, a Potent New Derivative of Kratom
A lot has changed since the 1990s, when smoke shops bore signs certifying that the water pipes they sold were “for tobacco only.” Today, not only can you buy an array of cannabis products, but you can also buy an array of plants and fungi with known psychoactive properties, the kinds of drugs that… Read More »
Do Emojis on a Dating App Mean Drug Crime?
Dating apps are a hotbed of ambiguity, confusion, and frustration. It is hard enough to tell if someone is flirting with you when you interact in real life. Is he smiling because he likes you, or is it because you can both hear the ice cream truck tinkling “Turkey in the Straw” in the… Read More »
Can You Get Your Charges Dropped, Even If You Are Being Accused of a Major Drug Crime?
Old folks are constantly telling young people to be careful about the company they keep, because it is possible to get in trouble simply for associating with someone who committed a crime. On the other hand, wanting to be only one degree of separation from celebrities has become a national obsession. The fact that… Read More »
Sale of Counterfeit Pills
You know you are doing well financially when the amount of money in your possession is 1,000 times your age. Financial planners often say that your goal should be to retire with $1 million in retirement savings, but this is clearly aspirational content; no one has that kind of money, not in today’s economy. … Read More »
