AN UNREGULATED HIGH HITS THE FRANKLIN COUNTY AREA: SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA

Local authorities are concerned that an unregulated psychoactive drug
is readily available for sale over the Internet and from at least one
location in Franklin County. Sea the Source, a store in the
Chambersburg Mall that also sells bongs, glass pipes and other items
associated with cannabis culture, has been offering synthetic
marijuana for more than a month, Chambersburg Police Chief David
Arnold said.

"It's definitely out there and it's definitely something we need to be
concerned about. Parents need to know about it," he said.

When Public Opinion visited the store recently, a clerk declined to
discuss the products, which were displayed for sale on shelves inside
a glass counter case. Efforts to reach the store's owner were
unsuccessful.

K2, one of the most prominent brands on the market, was available at
Sea the Source in a number of varieties.

Prices for K2 ranged from $29.95 for 3 grams to $175 for an ounce.
Other brands with names like "Black Magic Spice," "Voodoo Spice" and
"Funky Green Stuff" were being sold in smaller quantities for as
little as $15.

These "herbal incenses" are plant blends treated with laboratory-made
compounds called "cannabinoid agonists," which are said to reproduce
the intoxicating effects of marijuana when smoked, according to Allen
St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Often sold in small plastic bags, the products are marketed strictly
as incense, and labels on the packages advise that they are "not for
human consumption." The official K2 website features multiple warnings
against misuse and states, "K2 is NOT intended to be a marijuana
substitute!"

A disclaimer on the Funky Green Stuff website states that, "the
manufacturers of this product take no responsibility or liability for
the incorrect or misuse of this product."

Arnold said that on at least two occasions, his officers have
encountered people who were high on synthetic marijuana in the
borough. To his knowledge, no one has been hospitalized in
Chambersburg after using it.

Little is known about the potential effects of synthetic cannabis on
the human body, St. Pierre said. While more than 17,000 studies have
been done on the effects of marijuana, almost no scientific research
exists about products such as K2 and Spice.

"I don't think it's been evaluated enough," Arnold
said.

He added that some psychoactive drugs are shown to have permanent
effects on the brain, and it is not yet known if that is the case with
these synthetics.

In one recent case, a teenage boy was caught violating curfew and told
police that he had smoked the stuff. He was cited for being out past
curfew and taken home to his parents, who were informed about the
synthetic pot, Arnold said.

"It's not illegal right now, so there's nothing more we could do," he
said.

Laurie Ryder, a prevention specialist with the Franklin/Fulton Drug
and Alcohol Program said that until the drug is made illegal,
education is the only way to fight its use.

"We know for a fact that there are kids here who are using it," she
said.

Currently, the product is only sold to those 18 or
older.

Arnold said he is concerned that young adults might purchase it, then
turn around and "deal" it to younger people. Since there aren't any
laws on the books, he isn't sure how police would handle such a situation.

"With this stuff, it's like the wild west. There's no regulation
there," he said.

He also has concerns about the potential for users of the drug to get
high on it and attempt to drive in an impaired state. Since the
state's DUI law "hasn't caught up" with the new synthetics, law
enforcement could run into complications trying to charge someone for
driving on a legal substance that doesn't appear on standard drug tests.

"It would be nice if this stuff was put in the illegal category
relatively quickly," he said.

Arnold compared synthetic pot to ecstasy and LSD, which were both
legal for a period of time when they first appeared on the street.
Once it became apparent that the drugs caused potentially harmful
impairment, they were quickly outlawed.

State Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Chambersburg, said he intends to take up
the fight to outlaw synthetic cannabis when the Senate's new session
begins in January. He does not expect to see much resistance.

"I don't think a majority of senators would want to see this type of
stuff out in the streets," he said.

In the meantime, the Community Coalition for the Prevention of
Substance Use and Abuse is running a letter-writing campaign, Ryder
said. Residents are being asked to write their representatives and to
write any local store that sells the drug, asking that they pull it
off their shelves.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed
legislation outlawing it, 198 to one, Alloway said. House Bill 176
moved into the Senate Oct. 12, but never made it out of the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

"Everyone was so focused on pensions and Marcellus shale, and it seems
like some important things get pushed aside," he said.

St. Pierre said a number of states have already outlawed the drug and
he expects it to be banned in all 50 states within the next year.
While the substance is said to mimic pot's psychoactive effects, NORML
has no interest in keeping it legal.

"We're not arguing at all for the reform or the legality of this
synthetic analogue," St. Pierre said.

Synthetic pot will eventually be illegal around the world, he
believes. St. Pierre said the drug first appeared commercially in
Germany about three years ago. It has since made its way westward,
"being banned all along the way, including in the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legal."

While the current strains will likely be banned soon, St. Pierre
predicts that synthetic analogues of illegal drugs will "vex law
enforcement for many years to come." Because they are easily made and
manipulated by those who practice "street chemistry."

"Only a few molecules have to be moved around to change the compound
in such a way that it goes from being illegal to not scheduled," he
said.

It appears that synthetic cannabis products are currently being
marketed toward two principal consumers, St. Pierre said. They are
"youth and individuals who face routine drug testing in the workplace
because it cannot be tested for."

He added that synthetics lack a strong "positive buzz" among most
regular marijuana users who aren't necessarily interested in using the
new products.

"They don't have any desire to, as long as they have access to
botanical marijuana," he said.

Not for sale

While a sign in the window advertises "smoking herbs" for sale inside,
Gardens by Grace on Main Street, Chambersburg, does not stock any
brand of synthetic cannabis, according to the store's owner, Darla
Guyer.

"We never have and we never would," Guyer said. "It does not have a
medicinal purpose and we don't sell anything that's dangerous."

Still, a number of people of all ages have recently come in to ask
about synthetic cannabis, Guyer said. Instead of a manmade substance
for getting high, visitors to her shop can buy bags of dried leafy
smoking herbs like mullein or coltsfoot, two natural "tobacco
alternatives with health benefits," she said.