Police Charge FSU Student with Manufacturing Illegal Drug

An 18-year-old Frostburg State University freshman was reportedly arrested by members of the C3I Narcotics Task Force in his Edgewood Commons apartment on March 2 for the act of cooking an illegal hallucinogen.

The tenant, Michael Louis Baxter, an English major from Bowie, Maryland, was the target of the search and seizure warrant; he is charged with three felonies, possession of Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) with intent to distribute, manufacture of CDS, and the possession of CDS production equipment, and one misdemeanor, CDS possession – not marijuana.

According to police, in the apartment, officers found a total of 357 grams of Dimethyltryptamine, a very powerful hallucinogen also known as DMT. Information provided on the Maryland Judiciary Case Search shows that the student spent the night in jail and was released the following day after posting bond.

Baxter’s roommates were not charged, and for privacy reasons, Deborah Daniels, the Director of Residential Programs, would not release their identities. Daniels stated this to The Bottom Line in regards to the indecent:

“During a routine health and safety inspection, Edgewood Commons staff discovered what appeared to be drug paraphernalia. University Police were contacted and responded to the scene. University Police and other law enforcement officials took the necessary steps to investigate and render the area safe.”

According to several unofficial, forum-based websites, a gram of DMT has a street value of $60-100, depending on the potency. Based on this, if sold at the premium rate, C3I effectively seized $35,700 of DMT from the apartment. In a 2013 Fox 8 article, investigators involved in busting a DMT lab in Guilford County said that the price of DMT was similar to cocaine.

The following account is based on the arresting officer’s written report filed in Allegany County District Court in Cumberland; Sergeant Wade Sibley of the C3I Narcotics Task Force was the arresting officer.

Sibley reported, upon unforced entry at approximately 6:30 PM, C3I and FSU officers made contact with Baxter who was seated at the dining room table in the kitchenette area of the apartment. After Sergeant Sibley read Baxter his constitutional rights, Baxter stated that he understood his rights, but elected to speak to officers without the presence of an attorney. Sergeant Sibley then asked Baxter what drug he was manufacturing in the apartment; Baxter replied, “DMT.”

Baxter then explained to the Sergeant that he had been producing DMT since November 2014, using a recipe that he found from various websites, said Sergeant Sibley. The suspect then elaborated on how he made the DMT. Sergeant Sibley noted in his report, “The step by step process … Mr. Baxer explained replicated … the actual process … the Drug Enforcement Agency has taught concerning this illicit drug.”

Sergeant Sibley then wrote, on the stove top Baxter had a pan that he said contained a tree root known as “Acasia Confusa”, a key ingredient in making DMT. Officers also located a plastic baggie containing “Caustic Sodium Lye” and a tin can filled with “VM&P Naptha” fluid, also important to production. All of these ingredients were said to have been purchased over the internet.

According to Sergeant Sibley, Baxter said his recipe to manufacture DMT generally takes a minimum of five days.

Reportedly, when Sergeant Jason McCumber searched Baxter’s person, he found a glass vial containing a white crystal, powdery substance that appeared to be consistent with DMT, and Baxter admitted that indeed it was.

Officers found an enormous amount of DMT in the kitchen area, 357 grams in total, yet Baxter denied that he sold any of it, wrote Sergeant Sibley. He claimed that he only used it for personal use by lacing marijuana with the drug and then smoking it.

Since there is no field test kit to accurately test for DMT, the confiscated drugs were packaged and sent to the Maryland State Police Crime Lab for further analysis. Sergeant Sibley stated in his write up that, “The substance to which Mr. Baxter had contained inside the glass vial on his person does have the characteristics to be that of Dimethyltryptamine.” DMT is known to have a crystalline yellowish-orange appearance.

Then, according to Sergeant Sibley, two glass jars containing bio-hazard materials, the highly toxic waste from the manufacturing process, were turned over to the Cumberland Fire Department’s HAZ-MAT Response Team for proper disposal.

Dr. Benjamin Norris, an Associate Chair in FSU’s chemistry department, commented on how dangerous manufacturing DMT can be:

“Working in a well-ventilated area (which almost certainly would not happen in a dorm room) is not enough, since these compounds will not escape through windows. Rather, they will fill the room from the bottom, displacing air as they go. Once inhaled, these compounds can react all over your body, but the scariest thing they do is methylate DNA – permanently altering or deactivating part of your genetic sequence.”

Dr. Norris also explained the psychedelic effects that the drug has on the body:

“The hallucinations with DMT are supposed to be pretty bizarre, frequently including strange human-like beings. It supposedly reaches peak concentration in the blood quickly, and the effects are over in as a little as 15 minutes. It is considered to be about as addictive as codeine or methadone.”

The Bottom Line attempted to get a statement from the C3I Narcotics Task Force, but Corporal Andrew Farrell replied in an email, “As of now, we have a current investigation open. There will be no press release at this time, as we do not comment on active cases.”

FSU’s Chief Cynthia Smith gave this statement:

“The safety of our students and this campus is our highest priority. I am grateful for the alert observations of the Edgewood Commons staff and the professional response of University Police and members of the C3I Narcotics Unit. Because of their dedicated efforts a potentially significant safety concern was quickly and effectively neutralized.”

Online court records indicate that Baxter is to appear at the District Court for Allegany County in Cumberland on April 2. Of his current academic status at FSU, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Jeff Graham, told The Bottom Line in an email:

“The student from the Edgewood drug manufacturing incident has been referred through the University disciplinary process. It is our practice to administer interim disciplinary suspensions when there is information to indicate that a student’s continued presence on campus may pose a substantial threat to themselves or the University community.”