'FAKE WEED' ON MARKET IN TRIANGLE

PORT ARTHUR - There's a new "spice" in town and it isn't used to
flavor food.

Known as K2, Serenity or Genie, the drug is basically a high inducing
incense similar to marijuana but without the active ingredient
Tetrahydrocannabinol - or THC.

The product, which is listed as Spice Cannabinoid on the Drug
Enforcement Agency's Office of Diversion Control Web site, has been
around since the mid 90s, though it has just recently gained notoriety
as a legal alternative to marijuana.

It is also legal to smoke and can be purchased locally.

At least two businesses in the Mid-County area sell K2 under one of
the many names it is manufactured under. But demand is just not that
high, one store clerk in Port Neches said of the two flavors available.

The drug's active ingredient was originally created in the lab of John
W. Huffman of Clemson University and was named JWH-018 after his
initials and the experiment number according to LiveScience .

According to the Clemson University Website, his primary area of study
is organic chemistry and the study of cannabinoid receptors or the
areas of the brain that respond to the active ingredient in marijuana.

The News placed a call to Huffman but he declined to
comment.

According to WebMD, the product K2, Spice Gold and other herbal
incense products are not deemed safe.

Huffman's statement to WebMD was blunt.

"It is like Russian roulette to use these drugs. We don't know a darn
thing about them for real," he said in a story on WebMD.

According to the Web site spicegold.com, effects of smoking the
product are similar to that of smoking marijuana. A warning label is
on each package saying "not for human consumption."

Local law enforcement are aware of the product but since Spice is
legal, there isn't much they can do but sit back and watch.

"We're certainly aware and a little concerned," Deputy Chief Ron Hobbs
with Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said. "But it's not real
popular here and it's not illegal. This has come up before back when
ecstasy was not yet illegal. We had to wait until the next legislative
session came around and placed it on the agenda."

The drug known as ecstasy did not become illegal until 1985, and was
sold in convenience stores.

Louisiana lawmakers support a ban on Spice.