MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Police in Clinton, Mississippi, are alarmed after finding 36 pounds of marijuana packaged to look like some popular candies.
Officers said they found the haul of edible marijuana after stopping a Memphis woman for a traffic violation on Interstate 20 at Springridge Road around 12:30 Tuesday morning.
Monet Shields, 31, of Memphis, was arrested and her 2017 Dodge Challenger and its contents confiscated by officers.
“There is enough evidence to say her end destination was a hotel in Clinton, and she was looking to sell those products last night,” said Clinton Police Chief Ford Hayman. “Fortunately, we were able to get this load of marijuana edibles off the street before she had a chance to sell it.”
Clinton police displayed the bags of marijuana edibles that included some packaged as Jolly Rancher Gummies, Skittles, Cheetos, and Stoner Patch Dummies.
Chief Hayman believes the product came from California but has no idea how Shields planned to distribute it or who else might be involved.
Hayman and Clinton Mayor Phil Fisher said they wanted to get the word out to as many people as possible, especially parents, to protect the children.
“I have grandchildren, young grandchildren, and they eat candy like this, and you can’t tell me that is not Skittles just as it is at the convenience store and if you are someone like me. I don’t know what color the Skittles bag is,” said Fisher. “So, if someone walked up and handed this to me unless I smelled it, I would not have known the difference.”
Chief Hayman said they confiscated 419 packets of marijuana edibles he believes we’re going to be sold for $20 a bag.
In March, Shields was arrested in Memphis for being a fugitive from justice from Monterey County, California. No word on what the charges in California were about, but that case has been closed. In Clinton, she is facing charges of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute it.
Police said this is an ongoing investigation that could lead to more arrests in the area.
