Police: Man outside Groton hotel had synthetic marijuana
Groton — Town and regional officers seized several packs of synthetic marijuana Monday after they said a man they approached in a hotel parking lot attempted to flee.
Daniel Burgess, 51, of 11 Smith Ave., Norwich, was charged with possession of a hallucinogen and interfering with an officer.
Town police, along with members of the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force, said they were conducting surveillance in the parking lot of a Groton hotel when they spotted a “suspicious” man seated in his vehicle.
When task force officers approached the vehicle, Burgess allegedly got out and began to run away. Police said an officer in an unmarked police vehicle stopped Burgess a short distance from the hotel and took him into custody without incident.
Police couldn’t say how much of the synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 and Spice, they found, but a photo of the evidence shows six packets that suggest the contents are to be used as incense and are not for human consumption.
The arrest comes less than a week after New London saw 14 suspected K2 overdoses in 48 hours. Many of those who likely overdosed were found outside in public spaces. None of the patients died.
Connecticut legislators outlawed K2, which used to be widely sold as potpourri, in 2012.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.