MADISON COUNTY, Ala. — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office announced a major drug bust Wednesday, seizing over 28 pounds of the street drug spice, also known as synthetic marijuana, along with a stolen vehicle.

Madison County narcotics agents, joined by an FBI task force raided a home at 140 Browning Drive in the community of Toney. Deputies arrested David Joe Perkins and charged him with drug trafficking. A neighbor News 19 spoke to, who asked to remain anonymous, said drugs have been an ongoing issue in the community for years.

News 19 also spoke with a licensed substance abuse counselor who called the sheer amount of spice seized extremely worrisome. The drug is generally laced with a variety of dangerous chemicals, and can potentially be fatal for those who use it.

“Quite often what they get is at least psychosis, which is a detached feeling from reality, but it can cause an increased heart rate, it can cause vomiting, it can cause seizures, it can cause death,” said Shannon Roberts, Co-Founder of the substance abuse non-profit Not One More Alabama (NOMA).

Roberts is hoping parents will sit down with their children and have the difficult conversation about the dangers of spice and other drugs.

“If someone starts using before the age of 18 the likelihood of having a substance use issue is much greater,” said Roberts.

Roberts says her team will also now be keeping a close eye on spice use data in the region, which many health experts had thought was on the downturn.

“The fact that 28 pounds was seized really scares me into thinking that it’s back out there and more prevalent and that more kids are experimenting with it,” said Roberts.

David Joe Perkins is currently being held at the Madison County Detention Facility without bond.