Around 9:30 PM last Saturday, an officer with the Summerville Police Department was dispatched following a 9-1-1 call that a PT Cruiser headed southbound into Summerville was driving all over the roadway.

When the officer caught up with the vehicle in front of Earl Rainwater Funeral Home, it was still swerving. The officer pulled over the driver, 44-year-old Shawn Basil Collins, who was slurring his words and had bloodshot eyes, according to the officer’s report.

Collins passed a breathalyzer test, but did poorly on field sobriety tests conducted by the officer. When asked, Collins admitted to smoking synthetic marijuana earlier in the day and informed the officer that there was some in his car.

Law enforcement also found an open bottle of wine and kratom in Collins’ vehicle. Kratom is a drug that has recently gained popularity as a legal, unregulated “herbal supplement” that produces a high similar to that of marijuana. Georgia’s state legislature has begun researching the safety and efficacy of kratom within the last couple of months.

Collins was arrested and charged with:

• Failure to maintain lane;
• DUI drugs, less safe;
• and possession of an open container of alcohol.