'SPICE': 'MIND-ALTERING' DRUG OR JUST SMELLY HERBS?

Substance Said to Mimic Marijuana, Sold Legally at Local Shops

It says on the label: "This product is NOT intended for human
consumption."

But the barely concealed word on the street is that "spice" is an herb
mixture laced with chemicals that mimic the effects of marijuana.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Mike Turner, with
the Denver field division, said it's not known what's in it or what
the long-term effects are.

"If I had a child in school, it would be a definite concern to me," he
said.

The substance is being sold legally over the counters of pipe shops
and gas stations in Durango as K2, Black Mamba, Hayze and other trademarks.

While authorities are investigating, clerks who sell it say the
mixtures are strictly aromatic.

"This is incense," said Jaser Assi from behind the counter of the
Downtown Smoke Shop about a canister of glittery leaves and stems.
"What you do with it in your home is your business."

Spice's rather sudden appearance in Durango has raised alarm among
city and school officials.

"The reality is that it's a mood-altering, mind-altering substance
that's causing concern across the state and the country," said Vic
Blasi, chief probation officer for the 6th Judicial District.

Blasi recently got permission from local judges to ban his probation
clients from using spice and other so-called "synthetic
cannabinoids."

The Durango City Council received information packets about spice.
Mayor Michael Rendon said he wants to know more before proposing any
change in local law.

The mixtures are difficult to test for, but Blasi said a lab in
Arizona, Norchem, was able to detect it and suss out a few local clients.

Among the shops that carry it are Gandolf's Smoke Shop at Main Avenue
and 22nd Street and Wild Side Gifts at Main and 32nd, along with
Downtown Smoke Shop.

Some of the spice canisters label the product as incense, others
don't. The cap Assi held up, "Black Mamba," reads "Use only as
directed" but contains no other directions.

The shops surveyed sell to customers only older than 18. Prices range
from $12 to $24 a gram. Larger amounts and some high-end varieties can
run as much as $100.

Lt. Pat Downs with the Southwest Drug Task Force and the La Plata
County Sheriff's Office said it doesn't matter whether spice is legal,
"The problem is it's being abused."

DEA spokeswoman Barbara Carreno said the chemicals were likely
developed by researchers hoping to test the effects of cannabis on
animals. The fad of spraying them on herbs to get around drug testing
immigrated to the East Coast from Europe and headed west.

The eight criteria the DEA uses to determine a substance's legality
address potential for abuse and social effects. Carreno said the
agency doesn't just control substances "willy-nilly."

Ten states have banned it. Many local governments have too, but none
so far in Colorado.

To combat abuse of spice and other lawful substances, the Air Force in
June revised its guidelines to ban substances other than alcohol or
tobacco that alter mood or function.

Carreno said selling spice mixtures as "incense" is a way smoke shops
avoid liability for dealing in mind-altering substances. It's the same
principle they use when selling "water pipes" instead of "bongs."

"It's bought with a wink and nod," Carreno said. "Everybody buys this
knowing what it's used for. It's sold by the gram, and who buys
incense by the gram?"

The website for K2 Incense offers discreet shipping and warns against
competitors' scams.

"NOT COVERED BY THE NEW BANS!!!" reads the site.

Sarah Hill, owner of Durango Wellness, which sells medical marijuana,
said spice has ingredients like valerian root and skullcap, which are
found in ageless folk remedies, often aphrodisiacs.

"It's all hype," Hill said. "The truth is smoking anything can make
you feel euphoric because your brain is being deprived of oxygen."

Some people do use spice as incense, said Kristine Rhodes, owner of
Gandolf's Smoke Shop. The product has flown under the radar for years
but only recently drawn the attention of the anti-drug watch, she said.

"The public has a vivid imagination," Rhodes said.

For Amy Kendziorski, executive director of Student Support Services
for Durango School District 9-R, spice is another in a list of
over-the-counter products kids use to get high. The list includes the
psychoactive plant salvia divinorium, whipped-cream chargers and
"huffing" agents like solvents.

According to 9-R's policies, a school principal should deal with
instances of substance abuse on a case-by-case basis once irregular
behavior is observed.

Though legal, selling synthetics on or away from school grounds
usually results in suspension.

Kendziorski is hoping to hold a parents' night this year to address
the dangers of spice and other licit substances with illicit uses.

Several students at Durango Big Picture High School have been
overheard by staff members discussing spice.

"Our level of concern is up about it," said Big Picture administrator
Alain Henry, who said he worries students don't know what they're
getting into.

"If you're smoking it and going to class, you're not focusing, and
you're not retaining information," he said. "But that's a narrow
focus; a broader concern I have is with the unknown. There's just not
enough known about this stuff."

Danny Chambers, 17, a Big Picture student, chose spice as a research
topic to satisfy speech and science requirements, to coincide with his
school's project-based curriculum.

A lot of kids he knows use spice instead of marijuana, for various
reasons.

"It's a drug," Chambers said. "And that's what a lot of people don't
realize. It's the chemicals that get you high; it's not the plants."