We’ve related here in the past some of the potential down sides of infusing edibles with cannabis. But until now, I’ve not had an opportunity to bring you a picture of a really big, wide-scale weed screw-up. Well… They DO say your wedding day should be one of the most memorable of your life…
Previous posts in this space dealing with the dangers of cannabis-doped eats have focused on emergency room statistics and careless storage and handling of the stuff. Not to mention the issues arising from cannabis edibles that mimic the look and taste of regular chocolate confections, gummies, and so on. Today, I present a purely anecdotal tale of what happened when a Florida bride and her caterer connived to ‘infuse’ the food at her wedding reception with weed – and didn’t tell anybody.
Nothing more than a prank?
The bride, 42-year-old Danya Shea Svoboda, convinced her caterer, Jocelyn Montrinice Bryant, 31, to let her add cannabis products to various dishes destined for the reception feast. She gave just about everything a hit, from the Caesar Salad to the punch bowl.
At first, nobody seemed to notice anything was ‘different’. But after 20 minutes to half an hour, guests started experiencing a broad spectrum of symptoms.
One man reported he, “felt tingly, his heart started to race, and was having crazy thoughts.” He volunteered that he had used marijuana before – years ago – but this high, “felt different to him.”
Other guests said they felt, ‘high’, ‘ill’ or ‘stoned’. Many reported tingly feelings, the fidgets, nausea, disorientation and even paranoia.
The beginning of the end
But one canny guest – who apparently did not partake of any doped food – noticed the caterer removing a spray of greenery from the punch bowl. She was close enough to detect, “a strong odour of marijuana.”
“Is this for real?” the guest asked the caterer – who just giggled and nodded her head ‘yes’.
By that time, a whole slew of reception guests were being treated for the symptoms which emergency responders said were, “consistent with that of someone who has used illegal drugs”. Several people ended up in hospital.
Enter, the cops
When Seminole County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, they first asked the bride and groom if they knew anything about the mess. They initially said they did not. Husband Andrew Svoboda actually, “stared at a deputy with a blank expression for a few moments before stuttering through a ‘no’,” the arrest warrant affidavit records. Andrew was quickly absolved of any responsibility for the prank. But the authorities threw the book at the bride – who had more than enough reason to blush by that point – and the caterer, who went along with the scheme.
The ladies were charged with violating Florida’s anti-tampering laws, delivery of marijuana, and culpable negligence. The first count – tampering – is a serious felony, and could net the girls up to 30 years in jail each.
No word whether Andrew retained a divorce lawyer along with a criminal defender to represent his wife.
Guests have the last word
There remains one question everyone connected with the incident wants an answer to: “Why?”
“We want an explanation,” one guest told local NBC TV outlet WESH2. And I think we can all agree they deserve one. I expect news coverage of the trial will be pretty sensational…
~ Maggie J.