COPS SMOKE OUT FAKE POT

Packaged to appear legal and geared toward kids, $30,000 worth of
synthetic marijuana being sold by several businesses were seized in
the first such bust in the city.

Seven search warrants were served Tuesday - three at Bongs and Such
locations, three at Smoker's Corners locations and one at Grass Roots
- - where police said they found 707 packages of synthetic marijuana
labelled under various names such as Spice, K2, Yucatan Fire, Tribe and Skunk.

Those seizures led investigators to a warehouse in the city where
they found another 280 packages, said Det. Collin Harris.

While the products themselves aren't necessarily illegal, said
Harris, some of the compounds used to make them fall under the
Controlled Drug and Substances Act.

"Some of the (synthetic drugs) actually share the chemical structure
of THC, some of them don't, but what they are doing is working on the
cannabinoid receptors in the brain," said Harris.

THC - or tetrahydrocannabinol - is the active compound in marijuana
that gives users a high.

And the side effects of the synthetic drugs can be serious.

"According to medical reports from the U.S., users have suffered
various side effects including panic attacks, heart palpitations,
hallucinations, delusions and vomiting," said Harris.

The product was selling for about $30 a gram, said Harris, and
because of its increased potency, required less to give users a high
than real marijuana.

Synthetic marijuana first showed up on the drug squad's radar in
September 2010 when Canada Border Services Agency officers
intercepted a 14 kg package labelled as incense that was sent from the U.S.

"In this case, there were no technological aids, it was simply and
officer's good work that allowed us to intercept the shipment," said
Rick Cuzzetto, manager of criminal investigations for the CBSA.

From there, officers started keeping an eye out for the product.

"We utilized undercover operators to go into these stores and
purchase the product," said Harris.

"Numerous individuals within these store were telling our undercover
operators how to prepare it, how to smoke it and the desired effects
it would produce."

There have been about 50 seizures of synthetic marijuana in Canada
since 2008, said Harris, but this was the first in the prairie region.

No arrests were made, said Harris, and Crown prosecutors are now
deciding whether to pursue charges against the owners and employees
of the stores.