Jayson Mickle, Spice Distribution, Virginia 2016

Hampton dealer Jayson Mickle, 31, is headed to federal prison for 210 months after being sentenced in Newport News for running a sprawling, years-long conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana known as spice. Mickle pleaded guilty on June 27, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, marking the end of a criminal enterprise that stretched from local smoke shops to nationwide web sales.

From 2008 to 2014, Mickle flooded the Hampton Roads area—and eventually the entire country—with smokable synthetic cannabinoids laced with lab-made chemicals often manufactured in clandestine Chinese labs. Sold under street-savvy brand names like Hampster Purp, HPT Cherry, Bizarro, and Orgazmo, the product was deceptively labeled “not for human consumption.” But prosecutors say Mickle knew exactly how it would be used: smoked for its potent, mind-altering high that mimics THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Mickle’s operation began through a chain of retail stores branded Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, with locations in Hampton, Newport News, Gloucester, and Norfolk. By 2010, he expanded into wholesale, launching Blazin Herbs online—a front that later rebranded in 2013 as 7 City Gifts. Court documents show the business pulled in over $9.6 million in spice sales from 2010 to 2012 alone. He also supplied the Red Barn convenience store in Newport News with spice from late 2013 into early 2014.

His supply chain reached deep into the underground drug economy. Between January 2012 and April 2013, Mickle bought more than 1,000 kilograms of spice from Zencense, a major Florida-based producer, and its California successor, Zenbio. These bulk purchases fueled his growing empire, enabling distribution across state lines and cementing his role as a central figure in the illicit spice trade.

Now, Mickle pays the price. In addition to his 17-year sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson, he’s been ordered to forfeit over two dozen real estate properties purchased with drug profits—a visible sign of the wealth built on addiction and deception.

The case was announced by Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with top law enforcement officials from ICE Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Newport News and Hampton police departments, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Hurt and Kevin Hudson, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Cross-Rochefort, the conviction underscores a broader federal crackdown on synthetic drugs. Case No. 4:15-cr-18 is publicly accessible via the Eastern District of Virginia’s court website and PACER.