Man to face trial for selling marijuana edibles to kids
Quashon Rice, 20, waived his preliminary hearing on drug-related charges
EAST NORRITON » A Philadelphia man must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that he used children’s cereals and snacks to manufacture homemade marijuana edibles and used his Instagram account to advertise and sell the products to Montgomery County juveniles.
Quashon Rice, 20, of the 500 block of East Penn Street, waived his preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Marc Alfarano on multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, solicitation of minors to traffic drugs, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of controlled substances and corruption of minors in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between March 1 and June 13.
Rice faces an Aug. 10 formal arraignment hearing on the charges in county court, after which a judge will set a trial date.
Rice remains in the county jail in lieu of $95,000 bail while awaiting trial.
Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Mills is handing the case. Defense lawyer Jonathan D. Consadene represents Rice, according to court records.
Investigators identified 18 juveniles between the ages of 11 and 17 to whom Rice sold the products that contained tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, an active ingredient of cannabis, according to court documents.
The investigation began on May 10, when an East Norriton police officer working as a school resource officer responded to the cafeteria of East Norriton Middle School for a report that a student was provided an edible marijuana snack without the student’s knowledge, according to Upper Merion Detective Michael Laverty, who is crosssworn as a county detective, and East Norriton Police Officer Jared Weiner.
School security officials observed the student acting strange and hovering over a lunch table, “upset, his eyes were watery and red.” The student claimed another student gave him a “hot chip,” and he was taken to a school nurse to be assessed.
“In the nurse’s office, the sick student described what he ate as a rainbow-colored chewy Rice Krispy treat. The student said it did not taste good upon eating it. The sick student said another student started laughing at him. The sick student then said another student told him he ate a marijuana edible,” Laverty and Weiner alleged in the criminal complaint.
Officials tracked down a student who was selling edibles in school and that student admitted to purchasing the edibles from someone using the Instagram account profile “top2treats,” according to court papers. The juvenile admitted contacting the Instagram account via direct message for the purpose of purchasing THC edibles.
The juvenile advised that the person they communicated with via the Instagram account delivered edibles to the juvenile’s home or met the juvenile in a park or at other predetermined locations. The juvenile said the supplier of the THC edibles always wore a ski mask.
Using a search warrant, detectives obtained records related to the Instagram account “top2treats” and linked it to Rice.
A review of the account uncovered conversations between Rice and numerous juveniles quoting specific prices, delivery fees and a variety of edible THC products available including “Fruity Pebbles, cookies, brownies and Cinnamon Toast Crunch,” according to the arrest affidavit.
“As investigators reviewed the content received from Instagram, it was learned that the user of the Instagram account ‘top2treats’ facilitated the sale of drugs to children at locations including public schools, public parks, an Urban Air trampoline park and his juvenile customer’s homes,” Laverty and Weiner alleged. “Content from the ‘top2treats’ account show that the user specifically knew they were selling drugs to children.”
While Rice lived in Philadelphia, he used his Instagram account to advertise to specific areas of Montgomery County, detectives said.
Detectives alleged Rice sold the drugs to children as young as 11 on multiple occasions.
The criminal complaint highlighted several conversations Rice allegedly had with juvenile customers, including one related to a March 28 delivery of edible THC products to a juvenile outside Cheltenham High School, specifically two “bars” for a price of $25.
The criminal complaint listed drug deals with 18 juveniles and one 23-year-old female between March and June. Those deals occurred at private residences and other predetermined locations in Norristown, Abington, Conshohocken, Willow Grove, Bridgeport, Lower Merion, King of Prussia and Ambler, detectives said.
In each drug deal the Instagram account “top2treats” communicated with the customer’s account to negotiate the sale of specific amounts of drugs for specific amounts of money, detectives said. In some instances, an added delivery fee was included in the final sale price.
“Further, Rice demanded his customers follow very specific instructions when purchasing his homemade drugs, often including a menu,” Laverty and Weiner alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Additionally, investigators uncovered communications indicating Rice sometimes solicited juveniles to assist in selling the THC products by encouraging them to “tag” or share his THC edible advertisements with other juveniles using Instagram, according to court papers. Investigators uncovered photographs