The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court heard that police officers from Tel Aviv District Police working on the night shift were hospitalized in May 2015 with food poisoning after eating a pizza ordered from the nearby "La Dolce Vita" restaurant.
Shortly after eating the pizza all three officers began to feel sick with symptoms including dizziness, vomiting and hallucinations, and had to call an ambulance.
The police got suspicious and visited "La Dolce Vita" a few days later to question the owner on the accident. Reports detailed that 30-year-old Simcha Abazov immediately confessed that he used a synthetic form of marijuana known as "Mr.Nice Guy" as a topping, instead of oregano.
"I knew the order was placed by police officers. But the officer who called in the order seemed cool — plus he told me to add whatever toppings I wanted." Abazov said.
Abazov was charged with causing others to ingest poison with intent to harm, implying that he faces a maximum three-year jail sentence.
According to Mickey Arieli, the director of the pharmaceutical-crime unit of the Israeli Ministry of Health, synthetic drugs can be much more harmful to humans than the natural materials they are intended to imitate.
"Synthetic cannabinoids, for example, consist of the same receptors as THC in marijuana, but are 40 times more powerful and at times even more than 40 times stronger," he told Haaretz.
In 2011, "Mr. Nice Guy" and other popular synthetic drugs meant to mimic the effects of cannabis, was banned in Israel.