WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Deputies arrested three people accused of illegally selling marijuana through a bus decked out in marijuana leaves — a "cannibus," as Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described it on Friday.
Two of the suspects, husband and wife Jimmy and Bianca Andrial, are said to have owned the dispensary and have a prior criminal history. They, along with employee Daniel McCreary, 37, are facing several charges, including possession of marijuana, cocaine and threatening deputies.
Judd said deputies on Wednesday responded to the dispensary in a parking lot off Highway 192 in the Clermont area after receiving a call from "a concerned citizen."
"They were charging ridiculous prices," Judd said. "Three-point-five grams or an eighth of marijuana? Fifty bucks."
Deputies said they found a sign inside the bus that said, "NO MEDICAL CARD? NO PROBLEM! USE OURS! FOR $5." The use of another person's medical marijuana card to buy marijuana is illegal in Florida, according to the sheriff's office.
Judd added that as the search inside the bus continued, deputies found numerous containers of marijuana, including a digital scale with cocaine residue.
"They weren't even trying to follow the law," Judd said. "This is abuse of what the people of the state of Florida intended to be medical marijuana for the very sickest."
In a news release, the sheriff's office emphasized that while medical marijuana is legal in the state of Florida, recreational use of the drug is not. Before buying from legal dispensaries, people need to obtain a physician's recommendation and receive a valid medical card through the state, deputies said.
While being arrested, McCreary reportedly became physical with deputies while Jimmy Andrial verbally threatened them, saying he had been to prison four times and had assaulted officers in the past, according to the sheriff's office.
"Keep your stuff on the other side of the county line unless you want to be 'cannibusted,'" Judd said.
All three suspects were booked in the Polk County Jail and are now out, Judd said. The sheriff's office seized their "cannibus."