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GPD chief Justin Lovvorn has released a statement regarding a drug arrest on Second Street in Greenville early on the morning of May 4.

The GPD Special Reponse Team (SRT) “executed a search warrant for the Drug Task Force,” at a residency and found and seized “synthetic marijuana with a street value of over $800.”

According to Lovvorn, the home’s owner, Patrick Peterson, 43, was “arrested and charged with trafficking in synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.”

Lovvorn commended the efforts and safe execution of the warrant by SRT.

“I would also like to thank Sheriff Harden for his assistance in this search warrant and his continuous work with our department to combat crime,” Lovvorn said.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse on synthetic marijuana, “synthetic cannabinoids are human-made mind-altering chemicals” that are often marketed as “safe or legal alternatives to marijuana.”

“In fact, they are not safe and may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, more dangerous or even life-threatening.”

Lovvorn also commented on a traffic violation that led to the seizure of nearly a pound of marijuana.

On May 2, GPD officers stopped a truck “traveling on N. College Street with improper lighting equipment,” according to Lovvorn.

Officers stopped the truck and noticed “the driver seemed extremely nervous,” leading to officers searching the vehicle.

Upon searching the vehicle, they found “just under a pound of Marijuana in a cloth cooler hidden in the vehicle,” packaged in various plastic bags. The suspect was arrested and charged with 1^st degree possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

According to Lovvorn, the name of that suspect is currently being withheld due to an ongoing investigation.