Houston and Harris County Cracking Down on Kush

HOUSTON, TX — The city and Harris County are stepping up their anti-kush game. They are trying to shut the stores down and lock the people up who are selling it.

In a press conference on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 11, HPD, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan announced some gains in the war on synthetic marijuana.

The county attorney's office had won a restraining order against three Houston-area smoke shops known for selling kush. The stores, known as Spice Boutique and Spice Inc., sold some of the kush that led to the mass overdose in Hermann Park in June. The overdose sent 16 people to the hospital.

HPD narcotics investigated the three stores in July, which resulted in search warrants being issued and the owners — Minh A. Dang and Tuan A. Dan — arrested. Both men are charged with two counts each of engaging in organized criminal activity.

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When the cops raided the stores, they found more than 30 pounds of illegal narcotics and thousands of dollars in both U.S. currency and gold bars. Investigators also seized a firearm and a some vehicles.

Along with Minh and Tuan Dang, police also arrested four of their employees, they also face charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and falsifying drug test results.

Along with criminal charges, the county attorney is going after Minh and Tuan Dang civilly. Ryan's office is asking the courts to shut down their three stores for at least one year and to hit them with civil penalties.

Temporary restraining orders and civil penalties are par for the course when dealing with Kush shops. In the last few years the county attorney's office has filed 10 lawsuits against businesses that sell or have sold kush.

The lawsuits have resulted in the temporary closure of 20 stores and the permanent closure of four more. One of those stores, Moon Mart in La Porte, was shuttered in July and was hit with $60,000 in fines.

In June, another store, Jams Smoke Shop in the Spring-Cyrpress area, was fined $875,000 by a jury for selling fake weed. The jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning with the verdict and the fines. That's why it's called taking chances with a jury.

Related: Fort Bend Narcotics Task Force Raids 'Kush Corner' in Richmond

Despite the stores that have been closed and the dealers arrested and fined, kush is still widely available. HPD estimates that the substance is available in at least 58 stores throughout the county. Officers are investigating each of the locations believed to be selling the fake weed.

In the months leading up to the Hermann Park overdose, HFD responded to almost 1,400 calls related to kush use. Since the Hermann Park overdose, HPD has accumulated $2 million in overtime related to drug enforcement efforts throughout Houston parks.