Report: Marcell Dareus arrested in Alabama for synthetic marijuana possession

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on May 6, 2014, 10:17 PM EDT
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Just over a week after the Buffalo Bills elected to pick up his fifth-year option for 2015, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus has run into legal problems.

According to Travis Leder of WVUA-TV in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dareus was arrested last night in Cleburne County for being in possession of synthetic marijuana.

Dareus was reportedly arrested by a state patrol officer and released within an hour of his arrest.

Dareus made the Pro Bowl for the first time last season for Buffalo. However, he was also benched by the Bills for the first half of their game against the New England Patriots in December for a violation of team rules.

Dareus recorded 71 tackles and 7.5 sacks for Buffalo last season.

UPDATE 10:40 p.m. ET: Per Leder, Alabama State Troopers say Dareus was arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance and felony possession of drug paraphernalia. He was initially pulled over on Interstate 20 (the freeway connecting Birmingham, Ala. and Atlanta) for speeding.

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113 responses to “Report: Marcell Dareus arrested in Alabama for synthetic marijuana possession”

  3. I can think of better ways to celebrate a fifth-year option than synthetic marijuana.

  5. I have a 6 month granddaughter who probably has a higher IQ then him.

  8. They better hurry up and legalize pot in all 50. Not a fan myself but it’s clearly something probably better off done.

  10. I didn’t know you can get arrested for possession of something that isn’t a drug.

    Possession of a condiment…?

  14. I think it’s very clear from all the stories for years about habitual use of marijuana and now synthetic herbs that all these players want to do is smoke it up. The league is going to have to make a decision in the next few years about this kind if usage. It’s no longer about these people being role models for kids when a high percentage of them will be experimenting with something similar themselves. I’m not saying this is acceptable but these are grown men who play in cities that have now or will have legalized marijuana stores just waiting for a visit from them.

  17. What is synthetic marijuana? Regardless, it’s getting ridiculous that people are still getting arrested for possession of marijuana. Geezus, it IS safer than booze and tobacco. Time to enLIGHTen our society.

  20. That synthetic stuff is a million times worse than actual cannabis.
    When the inventor of the chemical says , “People who use it are idiots. “You don’t know what it’s going to do to you.”, it’s a pretty good sign you shouldn’t smoke it.

  22. What a moron. Next time Marcell, stick with 100%, real marijuana. It’s good, and it’s good for you.

  24. Hmmm that’s dissapointing….wanted to see a full lineup week 1 when they play my Bears…get it together Marcell, you have the tools at your disposal to be one of the best….

  25. Never been to Bama but where I’m from there is no shortage of the real stuff. Synthetic…really???

    Besides that, who cares?? It’s just weed people. I’m more dangerous to the public drunk than I am stoned and I bet that holds true to the majority of you.

  26. Ugh, can we stop making criminals out of people for trying to cop a buzz? Especially since marijuana, real or synthetic, has never been a direct cause of any harm to a person.

  30. We’re all adults. Can we please legalize marijuana so we can stop creating criminals for non-violent offenses that do more harm to society as whole? As long as he wasn’t intoxicated behind the wheel, this should’ve just been a simple speeding ticket. Ridiculous.

  31. “Felony” possession of drug paraphernalia? How is that a felony.

    I need to stop giv’n Saudi Arabia such a hard time.

  33. We say this at least monthly, if not more…..”What are these guys thinking?”

  34. Idiot! I get it weed isn’t that bad and it probably shouldn’t be illegal ( synthetic or whatever) . But it is!…this is just stupid well,now he will likely get suspended and it will cost him $$. What’s more important? Getting stoned or making millions?! Idiot!

  36. If Dareus ever decided to lay off the weed and really get in shape, he would be All-Pro caliber — maybe HOF if he could keep it up for a while. Will he wake up in time?

  45. Felony possession of paraphernalia? Did he have a watermelon bong or something?

  46. “I don’t understand.” I think that sums it up. Everytime I read a an article about an athlete or “celebrity” who has the funds to stay home and party like a rock star if they like, but continue to make “stupid” choices instead, I say to myself “I don’t understand.”

  47. This punishment should be worse than marijuana possession (in my opinion its much worse). Slap on the wrist, but seriously, legalize marijuana.

  50. So glad we waste our tax money on putting pot heads in jail instead of murderers, child rapists and sexual abusers.

    But at least them damn pot heads are off the street, because of all the horrible things they do, like, buy all the Doritos from the gas station. Don’t they know I like Doritos?

    What a joke.

  53. Get it together Marcell! Grow up! Everything is moving in the right direction with the Bills…FINALLY!…..and you are acting extremely selfish, letting down an entire organization, city and fan base. Mr Big Stuff….right?!?, Mr Irresponsible.

  57. As a Bills fan, I love the way Dareus plays, but he sure does make some dumb decisions. He got in trouble for being late to multiple team meetings last year and really needs to act more like a leader.

  58. Synthetic marijuana. What a joke.

    On both sides… the user and the law.

  65. Maybe Buffalo should opt to pay him with a synthetic paycheck now…..

  68. This stuff is bad. They use it because it goes undetected in drug tests. Here’s a little background of what is happening over the last week or two with “synthetic marijuana” (a misnomer?) from the Dallas Morning News:

    Over 90 patients were admitted and given treatment for suspected overdoses of synthetic marijuana over the weekend, at two Dallas hospitals which was a continuation of the trend that started the previous week.

    Baylor University Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital reported giving treatment to 38 patients during the last two days. Officials from Parkland also stated that they had dealt with 53 cases of overdose during the same time.

    Cases were pouring all through the weekend and as per figures given by Baylor officials they treated 38 to 44 patients who were sick due to an overdose of stuff which was a replacement of marijuana.

    Since synthetic marijuana does not show up in toxicology screenings therefore hospitals clearly depend on patients to report having used synthetic marijuana which included psychosis and extreme agitation.

    Director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, Zachary Thompson, stated that he was worried about the sudden jump in the number of cases reported to have taken an overdose of synthetic marijuana. It has chalked out a plan to hold several meetings this week with local and state officials to investigate the cause.

  71. The A.I.C. (Athlete Immunity Card) will drop that felony down or make it disappear altogether.

  77. Synthetic Marijuana Possession?

    What is that?

    He thought he had marijuana in his possession, but he was wrong. He was too stoned to realize he didn’t have it with him?

  80. Has to be for durg paraphernalia because last I knew synthetic marijuana is legal, it’s sold in all states in many stores. Non story anyways. I heard half the Flordia State players tested positive for weed during the combine. When are they just going to make this legal in all states. Safer than alcohol and better too.

  82. Oops. Former Bama player goes back home and gets into trouble. What else is new?

  83. What an idiot! Now we know why he was late for those team meetings last Dec. I will never understand why pro athletes do drugs when they know it will ruin a career that most fans would love to have. Time for the Bills to draft Dareus replacement.

  84. Just another complete idiot NFL player. What’s wrong with them all?? Too much money and no brain. Maybe think next time, you could have killed someone driving like an idiot.

  87. Lets all take this moment to recognize Ndamukong Suh. Wasn’t too long ago people were trying to say Gerald McCoy and Dareus were better. You won’t see Suh arrested for drugs or being benched for team violations.

  88. Why anybody would smoke that crap when you can afford the real thing is beyond me.

  89. when are we just going to cut to the case and legalize marijuana,this drug should not be part of the leagues drug testing even if it is not legalized

  90. Really? A guy with that kind of money can’t just buy a stash when he gets where he’s going?

  93. Dareus KNEW he was committing an illegal act by possessing the weed. I hope they throw the book at him, both the legal system and the NFL. Plus, I hope the Bills can rescind the 5th year option for him b/c he values pot more than he does an NFL career.

  96. This guy is a border-line bust..Played better now that Williams decided to play.

  101. That home game he was benched for was against Miami… The Bills still destroyed that pitiful Dolphins team….

  104. The only reason he had it and was speeding was to get it as far away from little children as possible.

  105. Patskrieg dot com says:May 6, 2014 11:36 PM

    Typical Bill.
    The Bills way.
    Zero Super Bowls since Scott Norwood.
    _________________________________
    Patriots. The Patriot Way
    Zero Super Bowls since SpyGate
    Super Bowl tainted = Cheaters

  106. Can you blame the guy? If I had to play for the Bills I’d be smoking something, too.

  107. Late to this thread but I gotta post here. I work at a psychiatric crisis clinic which is also a combined drunk tank and drug tank. The police bring us presents all night long. The street name we use for this crap is “spice” and it’s bad stuff. We consider spice as one of the worst four drugs around, along with meth, heroin and coke. It’s that bad. We can tell immediately when someone has been smoking it, right away from their behavior, which is unique in drug affects. Spice can cause intense paranoia, disorganized thinking, randomly violent behavior, kills impulse control and sometimes can make you so psychotic its effects seem irreversible. One guy we had in last week, now off spice for a month, can still only talk in 3rd person about himself: “Frank is scared someone’s coming to get him.” “Frank would like pancakes for breakfast.” A girl from last month spoke in word salad: “fish dog taco Sharon oil shoe? Sound big time bug car!” Spice can permanently change your brain in very bad ways. This is bad bad stupid stuff. Seriously, just go smoke marijuana. It’s a lot better for you.

  109. Perhaps Marcell got busted intentionally – this story could end up being the plot of an unannounced Old Spice endorsement & commercial?

  110. Is synthetic pot banned by the NFL?

    also I ready he only had to post $3,000 bail. Seems kinda low for 2 felonies. However I’m no lawyer.

    Honestly though, what people put in their bodies, other than PED’s, shouldn’t be controlled by someone else. He’s an adult (perhaps by age only) and knows how different things effect his body. Also it’s only possession. It’s not DUI or he’s not beating women, or shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub, or fighting dogs.

    Yes, he should have realized “I’m carrying so I probably shouldn’t speed or have a headlight out or have mirror window tints” but on a scale of egregiousness, this to me is about a 2.

  112. He doesn’t smoke synthetic pot cause its cheap. Marijuana has THC which stays in the system for up to 30 days. He smokes it the same reason kids and adults on probation do. Not really something that is tested for in a drug screening.

  113. From what i understand it is not really illegal to have and only thing is that some states have banned it from being in head shops. The synthetic pot changes from time to time as far as how it is chemically altered. It started out as JWH and main ingredient has been changed every time the MAN tries to ban that particular substance.

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