Man in His 20s Sentenced to Three Years in Prison After Casually Taking a Puff of Synthetic Marijuana Cigarette While Leaving Police Station

【Financial News, Ulsan = Reporter Choi Soo-sang】A man in his 20s was sentenced to prison after smoking synthetic marijuana and driving a vehicle as he left a police station following questioning.
The Ulsan District Court's Criminal Division 12, presided over by Judge Lee Young-je, sentenced Defendant A, a man in his 20s, to three years in prison on charges including violating the Narcotics Control Act. The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of a drug-addiction rehabilitation education program, it announced on the 22nd.
On February 21, Defendant A stopped his passenger car in the middle of a road in downtown Ulsan and refused to move. Police responding to a report took him into custody. Officers conducted alcohol and drug tests, but both came back negative. A was eventually released, but eight minutes later he was detained again after another identical report. This time, things were different. An officer knocked on the driver's-side window and called out loudly, but A did not respond and merely sat there blankly with glazed eyes. The truth came to light only after the officer pulled him out of the vehicle.
Police found an e-cigarette device containing synthetic marijuana and a container of liquid containing synthetic marijuana among A's clothing. A admitted, "I inhaled synthetic marijuana in the car."
It was later determined that A inhaled synthetic marijuana again while driving his passenger car out of the police station parking lot after testing negative in the earlier field test.
The court explained its sentencing decision, stating, "The defendant committed this offense while serving a suspended sentence and under probation for a similar crime, making him highly culpable. He is also trying to evade responsibility by making excuses."
[email protected] Choi Soo-sang Reporter