Cops Charge Dad & Daughter in Pot Brownie Ring
A Florida man was arrested for allegedly cooking up pot brownies for his teenage kid and her pals to sell at school events.
Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast
This bake sale was actually dope.
A Florida man was arrested last week for allegedly cooking pot brownies for his teenage daughter and her pals to peddle at school.
Palm Bay cops say the budding venture went up in smoke after two high schoolers were rushed to the ER after downing the THC-laced desserts. One student was allegedly “unresponsive” after trying the edibles.
Robert Johnson, 38, is accused of growing marijuana in his garage and baking and packing the brownies for his 17-year-old daughter, who allegedly planned to sell them at a graduation bash at Universal Studios.
But the cannabis oil-infused treats were hawked at a high school baseball game instead, for $10 a pop, WFTV Channel 9 reported.
“The students didn’t understand the dosage of the pot brownies,” Palm Bay police Lt. Mike Bandish told The Daily Beast.
“Two of the students ate the complete brownie,” Bandish said. “You’re only supposed to take a bite or two… it’s like drinking one beer compared to the whole 12-pack.”
Johnson faces a slew of felony charges including: delivery of a controlled substance to a minor; sale of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school; and possession of cannabis with the intent to sell or deliver.
His daughter and four other students are also charged in the alleged pot-brownie ring, authorities say. Their names have not been released.
Johnson—a carpenter and self-styled “redneck hippy”—wasn’t a known dealer before the alleged brownie ring went to pot.
After the student illnesses, cops obtained a search warrant that they say unearthed a marijuana-growing operation in Johnson’s garage. Officers say they found more brownies in his freezer, along with weed-packed Tostitos jars hidden in a safe.
“He wasn’t even on our radar until he started making the brownies and the kids got sick,” said Bandish told The Daily Beast.
Palm Bay cops usually “wouldn’t get involved in a small operation like this,” Bandish said, but did so because “it was at the school and kids got really sick.”
“Normally we focus on heroin and fentanyl, but when kids are getting sick, we have to do something about it,” Bandish added.
According to an arrest report, cops received a call from Heritage High School on April 6 after a student “was found ill and none [sic] responsive.” The student was transported to the hospital and treated by emergency room staff.
A second student, whose parents rushed him to the hospital, “was also ill with the same symptoms,” the report states.
Those students told police that they received the brownies from a male friend of Johnson’s daughter, who attends Bayside High School.
Johnson’s daughter later told authorities that her friend asked for her father to whip up the magic brownies. She then took the profits from her sales to her father’s residence, the report indicates.
When reached by a Daily Beast reporter on Tuesday, Johnson declined to comment on the alleged half-baked ring. “I’m not commenting on that, don’t call me again, have a good day,” Johnson said before hanging up.
On his Facebook page, Johnson describes himself as a “Long haired redneck hippy, if thats possible.” Under his self-employed work history, the handyman wrote, “People pay me to do there dirty work.”
He listed his favorite quote as: “If it smells like fish its a tasty dish, if it smells like colonge leave it alone!!!”
This week, local TV stations including News 13 were inundated with blunt commentary from skeptical readers.
“Funny how anytime something happens with marijuana the news decides to jump on it and hype up the story, yet people DIE from overdosing on pharmaceuticals everyday in FL and no one ever reports it. Biased much?” one Florida man wrote.
“See if it was legal this wouldn’t happen! Probably shouldn’t of sold them to some light weights in the first place!” another reader said.
One mother chimed in, “I’m a little confused. Is Marijuana is legal? Is it legal to sell or distribute marijuana to kids? If the answers are no then why so many folks defending the actions of this parent?”
News 13 even got caught up in the reefer debate.
“It’s not unheard of for people to be sickened by edibles. That’s why in states that have recreational/medical marijuana, there are standards for making it,” the station’s Facebook account said.
“The bottom line is the two kids got sick, one went unconscious, and had to be taken to the hospital. If you have a problem with our facts, you need to take that up with police. We do not make up facts.”