Second-grader’s story of ‘special medicine’ leads to large pot bust

An 8-year-old who told school officials that he was helping a ‘farmer’ grow ‘special medicine’ has inadvertently led to the arrest of his mother’s boyfriend in a major Vermont pot bust.

Steven Mann, 54, pleaded innocent this week to charges of cultivating more than 25 marijuana plants in White River Junction, Vermont, the Times Argus reported, after authorities became informed of his alleged marijuana possession from his girlfriend’s young son.

Police Detective Jennifer Frank said that Mann’s girlfriend’s 8-year-old son told school officials and police that Mann was growing “special medicine that can cure anything at all,” the Portland Press Herald reported in a related article.

When police entered Mann’s residence, they allegedly found two grow rooms near the child’s bedroom, pipes, rolling papers, bags filled with marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and various paraphernalia, the Times Argus added.

Mann faces 15 years in prison if convicted of charges stemming from the bust, according to the Times Argus, which added that police said charges are also expected against the 8-year-old’s mother.