Author Archives: Jay Butchko
MDPV Takes Your Favorite Drugs and Makes Them Druggier
Designer drugs. Bath salts. Research chemicals. Synthetic cathinones go by many names, but, with a few variations in the details, they can all get you into major legal trouble if police find them in your possession. Synthetic cathinones are so called because their chemical structure resembles cathinone, the stimulant chemical found in the leaves… Read More »
Undercover Detective Buys Drugs From Manager of Pizzeria
Pizza is always a treat, but especially if you have the munchies, and Pizzano’s Pizzeria in Lake Wales delivers the goods. Lots of people go there to satisfy their pizza cravings after smoking weed, and cannabis sale and possession has been decriminalized in so many contexts in Florida that if you have a bag… Read More »
EMS Employee Charged With Stealing Controlled Substances From Employer
Stressful jobs and the easy availability of addictive substances are a dangerous combination. Go to any Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and you will meet people who tell you that, for them, the trouble started when they were working in a restaurant kitchen where the alcohol flowed freely. In healthcare jobs, where you are surrounded by… Read More »
At Long Last, Federal Agency Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis
A few decades ago, radio stations used to bleep out the word “weed” when Nate Dogg sang, “smoke weed every day” at the end of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” In those days, “I Got 5 on It” by Luniz only ever played on the radio in the middle night, despite being on every… Read More »
Do the Drugs Belong to You, Your Roomie, or Your Landlord?
Central Florida is not as expensive a place to live as New York City or San Francisco, but given the rising prices of consumer goods and the difficulty of finding jobs that are more permanent than freelance gigs, hardly anyone can afford to rent a house or apartment all by themselves, even in a… Read More »
Can Where You Live Affect the Drug Charges You Get?
All over Florida, people are using illegal drugs in the privacy of their homes, and the police will probably never find out. Police cannot enter your house and search for drugs unless they have a search warrant, and the court will only issue a warrant if police officers submit a statement to the court… Read More »
Important Dates in Your Criminal Case
Drugs can really mess with your perception of time. Remember when you sat on the couch and lit up a joint sometime in late 2016, and the next thing you knew, it was 2018 and the movement to decriminalize weed was in full swing? Time never moves more slowly than when you are sitting… Read More »
Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Could Prevent Fentanyl Overdose
When a new and deadly disease appears on the scene, people often react by stigmatizing those affected by it. In the 1980s, when the first AIDS cases were diagnosed, public health officials identified gay men, people who had received blood transfusions, and people who had traveled to Haiti or used intravenous drugs as high-risk… Read More »
Staying Silent While the Police Examine Your Drugs Is Better Than Making a Fool of Yourself
When you see a police cruiser flashing its blue lights behind you, you might assume that you are toast. The location of your drugs might be so obvious to you that you cannot take your eyes off of it, but at least for now, the cops don’t know that the drugs are there. Sometimes… Read More »
Can You Get Convicted Four Times and Acquitted a Fifth?
Whenever you face criminal charges, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The right to a fair trial with an unbiased jury means that, if you have previous criminal convictions, the attorneys for the prosecution cannot mention these during your trial, lest it influence the jurors’ decision about the present case. The only way… Read More »
