{"id":386235,"date":"2026-08-31T16:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/386235\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:20:12","slug":"marijuana-seizure-1800-pounds-intercepted-by-butts-county-sheriff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/386235\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana seizure: 1,800 pounds intercepted by Butts County sheriff"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Nearly 900 pounds of marijuana headed<\/a> to Orlando was intercepted in Georgia as part of a larger interstate shipment, according to the Butts County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Gary Long said authorities seized approximately 1,800 pounds of marijuana in Butts County on Tuesday, Aug. 25.<\/p>\n

The shipment originated in Sacramento, California. Long said approximately half was destined for Atlanta, while the other half was headed to Orlando.<\/p>\n

The Sheriff\u2019s Office released photos<\/a> showing law enforcement officers standing behind a large pile of bags containing what authorities identified as marijuana.<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s statement did not identify anyone connected with the shipment, announce any arrests or charges or disclose its intended destination in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Florida permits medical marijuana for qualified patients, but only state-licensed medical marijuana treatment centers are authorized to cultivate, process and dispense it, according to the Florida Department of Health\u2019s Office of Medical Marijuana Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Long used the seizure to make a broader argument about marijuana legalization and the continued existence of illegal sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe illegal marijuana trade does not stop at the state line,\u201d Long said.<\/p>\n

The sheriff argued that criminal operations can undercut licensed marijuana businesses because they do not pay taxes, licensing fees or regulatory expenses.<\/p>\n

Long also said Mexican drug-trafficking organizations and other criminal groups continue to move marijuana across state lines. However, the Sheriff\u2019s Office did not connect this shipment to a particular cartel or criminal organization.<\/p>\n

The sheriff urged Georgia lawmakers to examine the experiences of states that have legalized recreational marijuana before expanding the state\u2019s existing medical cannabis program.<\/p>\n

Georgia allows registered patients to possess certain medical cannabis products, but recreational marijuana remains illegal. The Georgia Department of Public Health<\/a> says the state\u2019s medical program does not legalize the possession or sale of other forms of marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorgia, let\u2019s get it right the first time,\u201d Long said.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Nearly 900 pounds of marijuana headed to Orlando was intercepted in Georgia as part of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[7849,154768,147,145,28,153448,154769,139,141,140,35700,144,146],"class_list":["post-386235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-atlanta","tag-butts-county-sheriffs-office","tag-central-florida","tag-channel-9","tag-florida","tag-gary-long","tag-marijuana-seizure","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-sacramento","tag-wftv","tag-wftv-channel-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}