GPD executes search warrants
BY BRUCE BRANUM
The Greenville Standard
On Wednesday morning, June 10, just after 9 a.m. the Greenville Police Department (GPD) with assistance from the Butler County District Attorney’s Office, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force executed four separate search warrants in the City of Greenville.
According to GPD Chief Justin Lovvorn, the warrants were the result of a multi-month investigation focused on addressing the sale of restricted items to minors and locating and seizing illegal merchandise being sold to the public.
Two specific categories of merchandise were targeted:
- Kratom and Related Substances Items containing Kratom or similar products containing mitragynine or hydroxymitragynine. These substances are subject to a statewide cease and desist order issued by the Alabama Attorney General and are illegal to possess, sell, or offer for sale in Alabama under Code § 20-2-23.
It is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves are consumed for their dual stimulant and opioid-like effects. People primarily use kratom as a self-treatment to boost energy, relieve chronic pain, ease anxiety, and manage opioid withdrawal symptoms.
- Smokable Hemp Products Any smokable hemp products, including but not limited to plant products or raw hemp material marketed to consumers as hemp cigarettes, hemp cigars, hemp joints, hemp buds, hemp flowers, hemp leaves, ground hemp flowers, or any variation of these terms. This includes any product containing a cannabinoid—whether psychoactive or not—including psychoactive cannabinoids created by chemical synthesis, modification, or chemical conversion from another cannabinoid using non-cannabis materials. These materials are strictly prohibited in the State of Alabama under House Bill 445.
Lovvorn stated in a press release, “Several items have been seized and removed from each store for laboratory analysis to confirm their chemical composition. The investigation remains ongoing, and criminal charges are pending on the completion of the lab report.”
He added, “This operation reflects the Greenville Police Department’s ongoing commitment to protecting the community, particularly minors, from the distribution of illegal and restricted substances.”
