AREA SCHOOLS TARGET SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA

It can be made to look like tobacco, herbal incense or a typical
baking spice.

But it packs twice as much of the active ingredient in marijuana, and
the side effects can be life-threatening. Synthetic marijuana is legal
for all ages and typically sold as an incense. Officials are seeing
more of it in St. Cloud-area schools.

Several Minnesota cities have banned the substance, and the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration plans to temporarily control five chemicals
used to make synthetic marijuana.

But St. Cloud school district chemical health counselor Dan Becker
said that isn't enough, because people who make synthetic marijuana
can just create a new chemical recipe to get around a ban.

Becker has become the area's expert on synthetic marijuana. In his
small office at McKinley Area Learning Center, he has dozens of
packages of synthetic marijuana that have been taken from students.

"A year ago you couldn't find it anywhere," Becker
said.

But now synthetic marijuana can be purchased in local shops and
online. Becker said the use of the substance has expanded quickly
because it's so easy to buy on the Internet.

The effects

Users describe switching from marijuana to synthetic marijuana as like
switching from Coke to Diet Coke. The first time they use it, they can
get sick or just dislike it.

"It's an acquired taste," Becker said.

But once users get used to it, they never go back to marijuana, he
said. The buzz is stronger, it's cheaper, and it's more accessible.

It's also difficult for parents to detect. The substance doesn't have
a scent; some manufacturers mix it with fragrances such as strawberry
or cookies and cream.

"How can marijuana compete with that?" Becker said.

Every maker is his or her own chemist, mixing different chemicals to
get the effects they want, Becker said. Then those combined chemicals
are mixed with an organic substance so it can be smoked.

Becker said that makes the drug unpredictable, just like making
chocolate chip cookies: Just as there's no way to guarantee how many
chips are in each cookie, there's no way to know how much of any
chemical is in a batch of synthetic marijuana.

"They don't know how powerful the batch is," he said.

But it is powerful. Marijuana used in the 1970s and 1980s typically
had 7 percent to 10 percent THC, the active ingredient, Becker said.
Marijuana now sold has 45-65 percent THC. The chemicals in synthetic
marijuana are 100 percent THC.

That means a stronger buzz, but also makes the drug much more
dangerous. Becker said because of the potency, the body thinks it's
overdosing.

The body responds by increasing blood flow to try to flush out the
drug, which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

The No. 1 symptom of someone being on the drug is an elevated heart
rate. Other symptoms include headaches, nausea, dry mouth,
irritability and restlessness.

Schools have started noticing students who are restless and unable to
settle down. Instead of looking to see if they are hyperactive, they
should check the possibility that the restlessness is caused by
synthetic marijuana, Becker suggests.

Almost every day, school officials are finding the substance on
students, he said.

Dan Schramel, 20, used to use synthetic marijuana and says he knows a
lot of people who continue to use it. Friends introduced him to the
drug and he used it because it wouldn't show up on drug tests. He says
the drug produces a much stronger high than marijuana.

But not all of his experiences were good. Some of the batches tasted
bad. He experienced trouble breathing and would lose his balance. One
night he got so sick that he now wonders if he should have gone to the
hospital.

Schramel said he has been off synthetic marijuana for two months and
is working to get his life back on track.

Ban

It's only recently that a drug test has been able to show synthetic
marijuana use. MedTox Laboratories Inc. has a test that can identify
the presence of metabolites of JWH-018 and JWH-073 in urine.

Stearns County Drug Court has added synthetic marijuana to the list of
drugs participants can't use if they are in the program, using the
MedTox test to find it.

But that test finds only two of the chemicals that can be used to make
synthetic marijuana. Becker said there's a limitless number of
chemicals that can be used to make synthetic marijuana. So every time
one is banned, manufacturers can create a new chemical.

MedTox Scientific Director Gregory Janis said the company's test looks
only at JWH-018 and JWH-073, because those are the two common
chemicals he has found in products available in Minnesota.

Janis buys new products from different shops and tests them to see
what chemicals are in them. He thinks the next big chemical used will
be JWH-250, because that's what's being recommended in shops and he's
seeing it more in the products.

Janis said there have been no long-term studies about the effects of
synthetic marijuana, so no one knows its risks.

"This is just the start," Janis said.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration plans to temporarily ban
five chemicals used to make the drug: JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200,
CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexanol. Most Minnesota cities with bans
list three chemicals.

In a Nov. 24 news release, the DEA said it would ban the chemicals
after "no fewer than 30 days" from the time the release was issued.
DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said the day the ban goes into effect
hasn't been set. But once it is in effect, it will last at least a
year with the possibility of a six-month extension.

The temporary control makes it illegal to possess or sell the
chemicals or products that contain them. During that year the DEA and
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will further study
whether the chemicals and products should be permanently controlled.

The chemicals will be designated as Schedule I substances, which is
the most restrictive category for unsafe, highly abused substances
with no medical use.

The DEA took the step toward banning the chemicals because they have
not been approved by the FDA for human consumption, and there is no
oversight of the manufacturing process. The DEA also noted the growing
popularity of the substance, especially among teens and young adults.

There has been an increasing number of reports to poison control
centers about the drug's negative effects. As of November, poison
control centers had 2,300 calls relating to synthetic marijuana this
year, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

The association first noted an increase in calls a year
ago.

Local bans

States and cities nationwide are already taking steps to ban the
substances. At least 15 states and several area cities, including
Little Falls and Princeton, have banned the substances.

There's been talk about banning herbal incense at the state level. But
Becker says that doesn't make sense because the chemical can be put on
anything.

Becker is wary of such bans because the chemical makeup of the
substance can be easily changed to get the same effects but wouldn't
be covered by the ban.

He thinks officials need to sit back and see where the drug use is
going before passing legislation. In the meantime, school officials,
parents and others need to work together to educate students about the
drug's harmful effects.

A meeting was held last month with community leaders. So many people
attended that Becker took it as a sign that the drug use is much more
widespread than previously thought.

Another meeting is planned for 10 a.m. Jan. 11 at the Stearns County
Service Center.

Additional Facts

If you go ...

A community meeting will at 10 a.m. Jan. 11 at the Stearns County
Service Center, 3301 Stearns County Road 138, Waite Park.

Representatives from 12 area high schools will attend, along with
medical and legal professionals.The meeting will give attendees a
chance to learn about synthetic marijuana and come up with ideas on
how to combat its use.