Flomaton Police Officer Charles Land assisted by Escambia County Sheriffs Department arrested Shaina Megan Brown and charged her with drug trafficking. Police say she was carrying 250 grams (about 8.8 oz) of kratom into Alabama from Florida. Officer Land pulled Brown over on Old Atmore Road near the intersection with Tulip Road, approximately 200 feet from the state line.
Brown told police she didn’t realize she was no longer in Florida, where kratom is legal.
In 2016, after months of prohibitionist propaganda appeared in local media, Alabama added mitragynine and “hydroxymitragynine” to the controlled substances list as Schedule I drugs. Therefore possessing, manufacturing, buying or selling kratom is illegal in the state. A house bill sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler failed, but a similar senate bill by Senator Arthur Orr passed on the final day of session and was signed into law.
Alabama code 20-2-23(4)(b) classifies the two alkaloids as “synthetic” controlled substances, which is inaccurate, since alkaloids aren’t synthesized but extracted from the natural plant. Also, there is no alkaloid called “hydroxymitragynine” in kratom. One can assume Alabama legislators meant to ban 7-hydroxymitragynine, which is a mitragynine metabolite that occurs in trace amounts in the plain leaf.
Two petitions were filed to revert this bill in 2016 and 2017, but neither succeeded.
The minimum sentence for drug trafficking in Alabama is 10 years in prison, and at least 3 years minimum must be served before parole eligibility. Mere possession of certain amounts of Schedule 1 substances, whether for personal use or not, is considered trafficking in Alabama.
Police also charged Brown with having an open container. She was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center on 4/1/23 at 12:13 am on a $1 million bond.
Sad that you can’t travel with a tea plant. Look at him sitting there with his dog like he got a drug dealer off the streets?? Go bust somone actually selling drugs then that will be doing the community a service. Publicly humiliating her for using kratom is wrong
Wow, look at this smug officer! Hope he sleeps well at night knowing he ruined someone’s life for possessing a drug that is legal in 48 states! Great job Alabama! I guess you got to continue your despicable practice of slavery through your massive prison infrastructure. Oh thanks for killing my brother with your archaic drug policies, too. Kay Ivey is a c@nt!
Can anyone tell me why she was pulled over to begin with?
I’m wondering the same thing
This is rediculouse go bust these real drugs out here on the streets kratom is saved so many lives I can’t understand that this lady is in jail with a huge bond for kratom complete bs
Seriously! This officer looks pretty proud of himself and his “achievement” in nothing but ruining the life of a woman trying to better herself by using a God given plant instead of heroin or opiate pain pills .. so he’s proud of helping the good old boys in Alablunder keep building their heroin and pharma investments portfolios by making an example of this very innocent woman buying a plant legally in the state she lives in, Florida.
And she never intended to visit alablasphamy , it was likely set up diversion to entrap these innocent people on way home from the legal shop in the state of Florida , tricking them with the unmarked border into the hell she wound up in and was wrongly arrested for a legal 200 feet behind her , GOD given plant .
This officer should be ashamed of himself .. poor pup .
Yeah that cop looks a little too fucking proud I think that his ego is probably bigger than what’s in his pants. Do y’all’s research on it it is from the ground. Are y’all that stupid in y’all’s county? Oh and he has a dog I guess that makes up for what’s in his pants too. Y’all are so behind and ignorant I really really hope that one day one of your relatives get busted for something and maybe it won’t be Kratom it might be something else I heard you have a methamphetamine problem there you might want to worry about that instead of worrying about something that came from a damn plant bunch of ignorant inbreds.
I am a kratom advocator and with all due respect this is wrong and so many ways. You expect her to pay $250,000 to get out of jail for something she got caught with that grew out of the ground. With all due respect did that make you feel good inside because you made that bust? You have offended every Kratom user in America I’m going to need you guys to research and do your own homework on what marvelous things come from this plant. From what I was told y’all aren’t that smart out there. Take the time to read the science about kratom
If you do cool if you don’t shame on you for holding someone for the most ridiculous Bond I’ve ever seen. That man and that dog looks very proud for busting her and he’s a youngin. How about you go to those gas stations where those kids are buying tianeptine supplements. If y’all were smart in your little county you would make it legal but you have to be 21 to buy it and anyone who is caught buying it for a younger person can face jail time and that’s when I can say yeah that’s a bond that you can give them but why give this girl a bond when you know she cannot afford that that’s ridiculous it’s all about money. Your county is greedy and wrong
This is absolutely ridiculous! The cop looks so pleased with himself for essentially ruining this person’s life, too. Smh
This is BS man! I hope someone can help this victim of the law! What’s wrong with these people? The law is so ignorant and that cop looks like a dumb ass.