United States of America v. Devin Michael Tew

Salt Lake City, Utah, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with unlawful possession of drug-manufacturing paraphernalia.

By Kent Morlan

Devin Michael Tew, 40, of West Jordan, Utah, operated an illegal online business via his website poppyseedwash.com. More specifically, he sold “PoppySeed Wash” kits to customers who wanted to get high off the opium coatings on specially sourced poppy seeds that could be made into an opioid-rich tea. Each of the “PoppySeed Wash” kits included a bottle with unwashed poppy seeds inside, an instruction label for manufacturing the product at home, a measuring guide on the side, and a strainer in the cap to filter out the seeds when consumers squeezed out the opium-infused “tea” manufactured at home by following Tew’s directions. When prepared as directed, this “tea” contained morphine, codeine, and thebaine – all of which are opiates, and all of which are controlled substances.

Evidence at trial showed that Tew marketed his “PoppySeed Wash” kits on his poppyseed.com website and idealized the abuse of opium in various related social media posts. As a result of his illegal business, Tew made hundreds of thousands of dollars online by selling his “PoppySeed Wash” kits to consumers. In fact, Tew admitted to federal agents that, at one point, he was withdrawing—or having his sole part-time employee withdraw—between between $9,500 and $10,000 per day that he made from his “PoppySeed Wash” business. In 2020 and 2026, two separate tests conducted by FDA chemists established-- that Tew’s “PoppySeed Wash” bottled product contained morphine, codeine, and thebaine.

The Defendant was found guilty by a jury.