ILLINOIS HOUSE MOVES TO BAN MARIJUANA-LIKE SUBSTANCE

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois House moved Thursday to ban a little-known
drug that legislators warn is quickly becoming a problem across the
state.

Known as K2, the drug is similar to marijuana, only 10 times as
potent, warns sponsor state Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield. His bill
banning the substance cleared the House on a vote of 112-0.

Nicknamed "fake weed," the substance has been sold as incense or
potpourri since 2006 and causes marijuana-like highs. It is synthetic
chemical that is burned and smoked, causing hallucinations, vomiting,
agitation and other effects.

"Now a six-year-old or 10-year could go to the store and buy incense,
really, over the counter," said state Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago. "I
think this a tool we are going to need in the future."

Poe warned the substance is becoming popular amongst teenagers. A
professor at St. Louis University, for instance, found 30 cases of
teens who suffered adverse side effects of K2 in the last month.

"They are finding out it is very dangerous," Poe said. "I thought in
Illinois we ought to get ahead of the curve."

State Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, voted in favor of the measure,
but warned the nature of the drug could make it difficult to
administer in the future.

"Because it is a synthetic, all you got to do is make a very minor
tweak to it, and it's no longer a banned substance," Fritchey said.

The proposed law, which now heads to the Senate for further debate,
would make possession of K2 a class 4 felony. Marijuana carries the
same penalty.

The legislation is House Bill 4578.