Ken Paxton
AUSTIN – Today, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition in Bexar County District Court seeking a temporary restraining order as well as a temporary and permanent injunction against Stop by Mart and its owner, Sung Kyu Choe, for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The petition alleges that Choe sold synthetic marijuana and knowingly deceived consumers by labeling the highly dangerous drug as legal and safe.
In 2015, detectives from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) performed a routine Tobacco Alcohol Beverage Commission (TABC) inspection of Stop by Mart and issued citations for TABC violations. During a follow-up inspection, and after receiving a tip that synthetic marijuana was being sold at Stop By Mart, detectives discovered over 300 packages of illegal synthetic cannabinoids. Packages of the illegal substances contained no mention of potential harmful side effects and were deceptively labeled as “lab certified legal” and “this product does not contain illegal or banned ingredients.” The following year, another TABC inspection of Stop By Mart turned up 177 more packages of synthetic cannabinoids with misleading labels that did not mention the highly dangerous substances that were contained in the packages. SAPD detectives approached the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD) with the matter in late 2016.
To date, the CPD has filed 15 lawsuits to block the sale of synthetic cannabinoids in Texas. Under Texas law, it is a crime to manufacture, deliver, or possess a synthetic cannabinoid, a penalty group 2-A drugs pursuant to Texas Health & Safety Code §§ 481.1031, 481.113, 481.1161. Synthetic drugs have been linked to overdoses in Texas and throughout the United States and can cause paranoia, hallucinations, seizures, psychotic episodes, suicidal thoughts and death. For more information visit the attorney general office’s synthetic drugs section here.
To view a copy of the TRO click here.
To view a copy of the petition click here.