A woman getting married in the state of Florida and her caterer have found themselves in serious trouble after it was stated by the authorities that they may have served cannabis-laced food and drinks to the wedding guests.
The bride, a 42-year-old woman named Danya Glenny, and the catering manager, 31-year-old Joycelyn Bryant, were both charged with the delivery of cannabis, tampering, and culpable negligence. Many attendees at Glenny's wedding said they felt sick after possibly eating weed-laced food at the location.
As stated in court documents, authorities got to the wedding venue of Danya Svoboda and her husband, Andrew Svoboda, after a number of their guests called emergency services claiming to be feeling unwell.
The Medical Ramifications
The uncle of the groom, Douglas Postma, told the responders that after eating the Caesar salad, pasta, and bread, he began to notice that his heart started pounding and he began to get strange ideas.
The statement from the uncle of the groom was found to be like that of other attendees of the ceremony, which was held in Longwood, a city just north of Orlando.
Postma's wife had it even hard, and as a result, she had to be admitted to a hospital where THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, was discovered to be present in her blood.
After eating the bread with olive oil, Miranda Cady, who is a friend of the bride, said she felt as though her heart was going to stop.
She inquired of the caterer, Joycelyn Bryant if cannabis had been added to the food being served. And the caterer replied, "Yes."
According to Cady's statement to investigators, the bride also confessed that the meal had been spiked with weed and seemed happy about her prank.
Several individuals at the scene complained of vomiting and experiencing stomach pains but SCFD cleared them medically and said they didn't need to be evaluated further.
Law Enforcement Authorities on the Scene
According to the affidavits submitted by the officers, they were summoned to Longwood at The Springs Clubhouse on the 19th of February at about 9 p.m. to assist the local fire department with a medical emergency. At the location, the officers discovered a wedding party of perhaps 30–40 people, while one of the officers claimed that there could have been as many as 50 people present.
According to the affidavits, one of the first attendees to complain informed Seminole County fire officials that he was "feeling odd," as if he "had narcotics inside him." He also asked for an ambulance to take him to a nearby hospital.
Some of the guests felt so sick that they went to the hospital, where they tested positive for THC. Other guests reported that they were feeling heavily drugged and also that they had not been notified, according to one investor's affidavit. One attendee said he had experienced difficulty in making use of a cell phone, and another thought that she might die, the sheriff's investigator wrote.
According to the affidavit, the following day, one of the attendees told an investigator that she had felt stoned on the day of the wedding and asked the bride if marijuana was in the food. The bride replied, "Yes" and smiled.
Food gathered at the scene later tested positive for THC, according to the affidavit.
Deputies also interrogated the groom and bride, inquiring if they had authorized lacing the meal with cannabis after getting to know that some of the attendees and a security guard suspected the food or drink was to blame.
One of the officers wrote in a report that after he asked the groom if he had a hand in the lacing of the food with cannabis, he replied, stuttering a "no" after staring at him with a blank expression.
The officers then went on to try and locate Bryant, but she had already left the venue, along with the rest of the catering staff. Both the bride, Danya Glenny, and the caterer, Joyceln Bryant, gave themselves up on Monday, according to booking reports given by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office at Seminole County collected several dishwares and food samples from the reception for testing. Used wine and beer glasses, lasagna, pastries, brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and pudding "shot" treats were among the items that the deputies confiscated.
According to police reports given by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, the bride and her caterer was booked on Monday, but are currently not in the custody of the police. A spokesperson for the state attorney's office said that while Danya Glenny and Joyceln Bryant have been arrested on charges this week, a charging decision has yet to be given by the office of the state prosecutor.
The Florida Anti-Tampering Act
What happens if you're charged in Florida with tampering with food or drugs? Many of these offenses involve licking or spitting in someone's food or introducing a foreign substance into a consumer product in some way. The law oversees tampering with food and various kinds of devices, drugs, or cosmetics.
These felonies are frequently investigated by law enforcement officers in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or by local law enforcement agencies. The crime could be prosecuted under Florida Statute Section 501.001, often known as the Florida Anti-Tampering Act. However, such cases are uncommon.
The statutory wording was badly drafted and does not reflect the food anti-tampering law at the federal level, which is one of the reasons the laws are rarely invoked. The sanctions imposed by the Florida law are likewise far more severe than those imposed by the federal statute.
Furthermore, the phrases employed in Florida's Anti-Tampering laws are exceedingly imprecise, prompting constitutional concerns from criminal defense lawyers.
Conclusion
Both the bride and the caterer are being charged with negligence and breaking state statutes against food tampering and marijuana.
This could result in serious jail time, as accusations of tampering with consumer products in Florida are punishable by up to 30 years in prison under Section 501.001 of the law, a.775.082 or s.775.083.
