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Father And Sons Sentenced In Ashland, Kentucky

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A federal judge has sentenced a father and his two sons for setting up a scheme to distribute synthetic drugs packaged as bath salts in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Lexington says it's the first federal prosecution of a drug called mephedrone, which is similar to methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Monday sentenced Ralph Edwin Justice, 59, to 54 months in prison and his son, Adam Conrad Justice, 32, to 36 months. Both men pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance analogue.

Ralph Justice's other son, Eric Christopher Justice, 30, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.

Prosecutors say the substance was brought in from India to Ralph Justice's business in Ohio, and later sold in neighboring states.