Drug-laced vape cartridges worry Gloucester Twp. officials YOUR VOICE: Tell us what you think about the marijuana issue in South Jersey by answering the poll below.

GLOUCESTER TWP. - A whiff of honeydew, mango or sweet wedding cake might be masking the odor of marijuana in vapor from electronic cigarettes, officials in Gloucester Township warned Thursday.

The seizure of about 3,000 e-cigarette cartridges filled with THC oil this month spurred township police to highlight the health impacts of electronic cigarettes, how easily the devices are obtained, and the impact marijuana has on drivers.

The e-cigarette haul was discovered May 21 when Officer Doug Wallace pulled over a 2017 Nissan Sentra that didn't stop at a red light at Erial Blenheim Road and Black Horse Pike, according to police.

More: Gloucester Twp. police recover 2,999 vaping cartridges filled with THC

More: Paulsboro man pleads guilty to 2016 burglary, robbery

Wallace found a hand-rolled cigarette believed to contain marijuana, and a vape pen with markings indicating it contained THC oil, police said.

Wallace searched the car, allegedly finding 2,999 cartridges labeled "Pendemic" in honeydew, mango, Sour Diesel, Pineapple Express and wedding cake flavors. Each cartridge allegedly contained .5 grams of THC oil.

Police Chief Harry Earle said at a press briefing Thursday the packaging indicates the cartridges were professionally manufactured.

Each would have sold for about $38, bringing the total street value of all the seized cartridges to about $113,962, police said.

Recreational marijuana use is legal in nine states including Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts on the East Coast. While medicinal marijuana use is legal in New Jersey, recreational use is not.

The three men arrested in connection with the e-cigarette seizure were Maryland residents.

The driver, 23-year-old Mahdi El-Abed of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, was charged with intent to distribute and distribution of marijuana within 500 feet of a public park. He was held at Camden County Jail.

Two passengers in the car, Francisco J. Madrigal and Amin El-Abed, were charged and released on criminal summonses.

Madrigal, 23, of Baltimore, was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams. Amin El-Abed, 32, of Gwynn Oak, was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both charges are considered disorderly persons offenses.

"I don't know where these individuals from Maryland ... were going. I don't know who they were selling these cartridges to," Mayor David Mayer said.

"But my gut tells me some of these cartridges would have found its way into the hands of minors."

Vaping devices give Mayer "great, great concern," he said.

"We now have a relatively new device that can not only contain marijuana, but can contain much more dangerous drugs like heroin," he explained.

Since 2017, police here have made arrests in five incidents involving marijuana-laced e-cigarette cartridges, the department reported.

"This is something fairly new coming into an arrest pattern," Earle explained. "Marijuana we've seen over the years. And fundamentally, it's treated the same."

Current possession statutes treat THC oil in vape cartridges the same as a bag of marijuana "vegetation," Earle noted.

In a separate incident Tuesday, two Camden County residents were arrested in the township after "Luxury Pipes" brand vaporizers containing marijuana oil were discovered during a traffic stop on Blackwood Clementon Road, according to police.

Heather Marrocco, 27, of Pine Hill, and Michael D. Schina, 28, of Voorhees, were arrested, police said.

Officers found three empty cartridges, and one unopened peaches-and-cream-flavored cartridge containing THC oil, police reported.

Marrocco and Schina were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Marrocco also was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams. Both charges are considered disorderly persons offenses. The pair were released on a criminal summons, police said.

Carly Q. Romalino; 856-486-2476; cromalino@gannettnj.com

Also in South Jersey:

(If poll does not load, please refresh the page)