SPICE: SAFE SUBSTITUTE OR 'DANGEROUS PRODUCT'?

Ohio could become the 11th state to outlaw Spice or K2, a synthetic
marijuana sold at convenience stores and smoke shops throughout the
Miami Valley region.

State Rep. Margaret Ruhl, R-Mount Vernon, is one of the lead sponsors
of House Bill 544, which would classify Spice and K2 as a Schedule I
controlled substance, banning stores from selling it and making it
illegal to possess.

New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are considering similar
legislation.

Ruhl said her bill has bipartisan support, and she is confident it
will pass the Legislature next year.

She calls Spice a dangerous product that has sickened at least a few
high school students from her area and many others.

The bill "makes it illegal, the same as marijuana," she said. "It
gives you the same high as marijuana but it's more addictive."

Spice smokers: It's harmless, stronger

Spice users and advocates, meanwhile, contend the substance is a
harmless and sensible alternative to marijuana.

They admit it can produce a stronger high than marijuana.

"I think it was a beautiful thing people invented, and I think if
somebody is trying to take it away from us, it's just terrible," said
Doug Aytes, 18, who said he smokes Spice every day.

Spice was created in 1995 by Dr. John Huffman, a Clemson University
organic chemistry professor who was studying the effects of marijuana
on the brain. He created a chemical compound that mimics THC, the
psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and he published the recipe.

People began applying Huffman's compound to dried herbs and spices,
which they then sold as incense, called Spice and K2, at smoke shops
and other tobacco retailers for $15 or more per gram.

Spice and K2 come in all kinds of flavors, including cotton candy and
strawberry.

When smoked, synthetic marijuana stimulates the same receptors in the
brain as organic marijuana and produces a similar high, said Dr.
Marcel Casavant, medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center.

But unlike marijuana, Spice and K2 causes some people to become very
ill and exhibit symptoms that include high blood pressure, racing
heartbeat and nausea. Casavant said the herbs and chemical combination
is toxic.

"There may be some folks out there using K2 and getting similar
experiences to what they would with marijuana, but we're not aware of
that," Casavant said. "The folks that come to medical attention are a
lot sicker than the folks who come to medical attention for marijuana.

"While this may not be illegal, it is clearly not safe. It is a
dangerous product that is hurting people."

Why use Spice?

The American Association of Poison Control Centers received about
2,200 calls about Spice or K2 products this year.

It has received about 4,650 calls about marijuana this year, but those
calls are often about a combination of drugs, such as ingesting
marijuana with cocaine.

Justin Fox, 24, of Miamisburg, said he began smoking synthetic
marijuana three years ago while he was enlisted in the military
because it did not show up in drug tests.

He said Spice and other herbal-incense products are less problematic
than marijuana because the highs they produce are not so
incapacitating.

"With the Spice products, it's really light, like smoking a light
cigarette - you don't get the coughing and you get a clear mind," Fox
said. "People can wake up and still operate."

Fox said proponents of legalizing marijuana should instead focus their
energy on keeping herbal incense products on the shelves because it is
a fair compromise.

"It's a legal way to have the same feeling as marijuana," he said.
"Tell the guys who are fighting for (legalization of) marijuana, 'Hey,
wake up, we have got the solution.'"

He said Spice was originally a substitute for marijuana, but it is now
an improvement over the plant.

He said he would smoke Spice over marijuana even if drug laws changed
in this country.

Cher Neufer, president of Ohio NRML, a group that advocates reforming
America's marijuana laws, said in an e-mail response that her
organization supports unbiased government and independent studies of
K2 and Spice to determine the effects of the product.

She said incense is not meant for human consumption, but her group is
opposed to arresting users of Spice or K2, just as it opposes
arresting marijuana users.

Even so, Neufer said the rising popularity of K2 and Spice products is
a consequence of marijuana prohibition.

"K2 marketing is aimed at people who would like or would want to smoke
cannabis but have to pass a drug test," she said.

Staff writer Chris Griffth contributed to this report.