Authorities seize pounds of psychedelic drugs from Nashville home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Members of the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force, assisted by the Metro Nashville Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, raided a Nashville home Tuesday, seizing several pounds of hallucinogenic drugs, thousands of dollars, and multiple weapons.

The raid along Patricia Drive on Tuesday, Sept. 24 was the result of a month-long investigation into a woman accused of selling drugs out of her home and even a converted ambulance.

The task force displayed the seized items for News 2. The drugs included 10 pounds of marijuana, 1.7 pounds of MDMA (also known as ecstasy), 6 pounds of psilocybin, 5,000 tabs of LSD, almost a pound of psilocybin edibles, and 6.7 pounds of THC edibles. Agents also confiscated 315 vape carts, a vacuum sealer, $21,528 in cash, two firearms, and a converted ambulance.

When authorities raided the home, they said 37-year-old Ashley Lynn Hawes-Michael was surprised.

“When she opened the back door and recognized that the house was surrounded by investigators, she fled back inside, slammed the door, and locked it,” a drug agent recalled.

Hawes-Michael allegedly tried to dispose of drug evidence as law enforcement entered the residence.

“I believe she was probably attempting to conceal it or hide it further,” the agent said.

At that point, officials said the woman had a panic attack, so medics were called to the scene.

“She began to have what appeared to be some type of medical emergency. She started breathing really heavily and seemed to be panicking, essentially,” the agent described.

According to authorities, the 37-year-old was not only selling drugs out of her home, but also out of a converted ambulance she drove to music festivals.

“She has no legitimate source of income, she has no source of employment, so all of her currency, all of her assets, we believe are proceeds or derived from narcotic distribution,” the agent told News 2.

Perhaps most concerning to law enforcement was drug-infused edibles that looked like regular candy and chocolate, which meant they could be dangerous to children.

“The illicit narcotic, or the primary ingredient in here that is illegal, is derived from this here, these raw mushrooms, and so the problem with the mushrooms is that when a child gets a hold of this, they look at this and think…it’s a chocolate bar. It just has illegal Schedule I narcotics baked into it,” the agent explained.

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Officials said Hawes-Michael had no arrest history prior to this bust, but now she’s charged with multiple drug felonies. The District Attorney’s Office told News 2 she is due in court on Oct. 25.

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