Jerry Thomas (source: Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
Thomas is accused of selling the synthetic drugs at the Sweetwater Flea Market-
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By MIKE KRAFCIK
6 News Reporter
SWEETWATER (WATE) - Authorities in Monroe County say they're keeping their eyes open for synthetic marijuana.
The product is incense or herbs coated with a chemical derivative of THC, the substance found in marijuana that gets users high.
Police arrested Jerry Thomas in Sweetwater last weekend who was trying to distribute the drug.
Thomas was arrested by Sweetwater police and the McMinn County Sheriff's Office after several parents complained their high-school age children had taken the drugs he was selling at the Sweetwater Flea Market.
Thomas was also allegedly selling synthetic pills such as Xanax. One was disguised as an air freshener.
"We had received two health complaints from children taking this and spraying it under their tongue," said Sweetwater Police Officer Marty Kyle.
Police also found around 10 ounces of synthetic marijuana in Thomas' hotel room at the time of his arrest in a room at the Maguson Hotel.
Outlawed and banned in the state since 2010, synthetic marijuana contains harmful chemicals that could cause side effects including heart palpitations and hallucinations.
Police say the drug is disguised in many forms. "They're packaged different ways. Some of them say aroma therapy. Some of them say air freshener, but parents need to be very diligent in what their children have," Kyle said.
"I was surprised they found something like that at the flea market. It amazed me," said Sweetwater resident Terri Bryant.
As a mother to a 15 and a 21-year-old boy, Bryant says she had never heard of synthetic marijuana until this incident.
"Once you see that, you have to stay on everything and research and ask questions and make them available to you so you can ask questions," Bryant said.
Although the substance is banned, police say Thomas got the synthetics on the Internet from a vendor in Florida.
"In our area, we see that's it's so easy to get access off the online ordering. Basically you don't have to be a legit business to order it online," Kyle said.
Police say they've submitted the drugs to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to determine just what types of chemicals were in them.
Police say Thomas had no previous arrest record.
In March, the DEA placed five types of the synthetic marijuana on a Schedule 1 list, which is the same schedule as heroin. This means it has a high abuse potential and no accepted medical use.
