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BRISTOL, Tenn. — Designer drugs are being blamed for at least two deaths in the Tri-Cities and police said a loophole in the law is the reason why they can’t arrest people for using or selling the drugs.

The state of Tennessee does currently have a law that bans K2 incense, synthetic marijuana sold as “incense” that is sprayed with a hallucinogen. That law specifically names the ingredients used in K2 incense. “The only thing that is illegal in the state of Tennessee concerning synthetic marijuana is if the hallucinogenic that is sprayed on the plant material falls under one of four very narrow categories,” said Gene Perrin, Assistant District Attorney General, Hawkins County, Tennessee. “What they’re selling is just as dangerous to consumers.”

However, manufacturers are changing their formulas, ingredients and packages which make their product legal again under the law. “The people manufacturing this stuff will keep up with the case law as well as we do. They know they can change molecule ‘A’ into something else and it won’t meet the legal definition and they can go back to selling it,” said Capt. Charles Thomas, Bristol, Tennessee.

A new consumer phenomenon is called “bath salts.” Bristol, Tennessee police said it has the same effect as meth but it is legal, so they can’t arrest anyone for buying, selling or using the synthetic drug. “When it comes to bath salts, which are catching on, there is no legislation that helps us address the sale or consumption of bath salts. Only when they commit a crime are we able to do anything about them,” said Perrin.

Perrin said because the drugs are legal and so easily available, bath salts are turning into a deadly designer drug. “We are seeing the emergency rooms filling up with individuals under the influence of bath salts. I’m aware of at least 2 people in Bristol, Tennessee who have died from the consumption of bath salts,” Perrin said. “We are facing significant challenges from a law enforcement stand point of taking these people under the influence of bath salts into custody. We’re trying to do things with them so they won’t harm themselves or others. And the problem is, we can’t put them in jail for being under the influence of bath salts because at this time, it’s not illegal.”

full article at wcyb

By David Newsom

As cannabis law reform proposals continue to make local headlines, another and potentially more dangerous substance is leaving its mark on the San Diego community. A synthetic cannabis product popularly known as Spice has infiltrated the nation under the guise of “herbal incense;” and according to researchers at the American Psychiatric Association, the chemicals used to mimic a marijuana-like high can cause psychosis in some users.

Because Spice is easy to obtain and as yet untraceable through conventional urine tests, use of the product among members of the military has become a mounting concern for government officials and medical doctors alike.  Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that ten patients at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego were hospitalized for psychosis after using Spice – and their symptoms, which ranged from auditory and visual hallucinations to paranoia, delusions and suicidal thoughts, lasted anywhere from five days to three months.

San Diego-based naval physicians explained that, unlike THC (the quick-bonding, short-lived substance in marijuana that gives users a temporary high), the chemicals used to make Spice — such as JWH-018, CP-47 and cannabicyclohexanol — are more potent and bind themselves more permanently to receptors in the body. Not only do the drugs maintain a longer-lasting effect on the brain and other organs, they also take longer to bind to receptors than THC does – thus placing users at a high overdose risk due to delayed recognition of the drug’s effects.

read more at lajollalight

By Bonnie L. Cook

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Abington police are investigating the possibility that an Upper Moreland teenager had smoked synthetic marijuana, a legal substance, before he jumped from the Willow Grove Park Mall parking garage Wednesday night.

Detective Sgt. Steven Fink said the 16-year-old, whom he declined to name because of his age, was recovering in Abington Memorial Hospital after leaping off the three-story garage at 8:30 p.m.

When transported to the medical center, the teen was conscious and talking, Fink said.

What happened Wednesday night was the subject of intense scrutiny today by Abington detectives, one of whom was sent to the hospital to monitor the teen’s recovery.

Three other teens who were with the young man at the time had not been charged with any crime, the sergeant said.

“As far as we can determine, no crime has been committed,” Fink said.

Police said in a formal statement that the boy was sitting in a car with three friends about 8 p.m. when “he began to act oddly and may have been hallucinating.”

“He suddenly climbed out of the car. . . and ran full speed and leaped off of the deck,” police said in the statement.

Fink said investigators believe the boy had smoked synthetic marijuana “sometime prior to the incident.”

Synthetic marijuana – also known as “spice,” “K2 incense” and fake weed – is a manmade chemical compound that can be sprayed on a natural herb.

“It produces a high similar to THC,” Fink said. “You can go into a store and buy it. Due to a loophole in the law, it’s not a banned substance.”

That could change very soon.

Though federal authorities imposed a temporary ban on the sale and possession of five chemicals commonly found in synthetic marijuana, the ban has no teeth until reflected in a state statute, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Such a bill, outlawing both the powerful drug known as “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana, passed the state Senate by a unanimous vote Wednesday and was headed to Gov. Corbett’s desk. A spokesman said the governor would sign it.

Ferman said she had learned about the existence of the synthetic compounds, and the dangers they pose, in the last few months.

“It’s really important that people understand that these chemical compounds don’t exist in nature, but they can be just as deadly,” the district attorney said.

Although there had been incidents of bizarre behavior throughout the Commonwealth that had been tied to use of the synthetic compounds, such incidents had evaded Montgomery County.

“That changed yesterday,” Ferman said.

The chemical compounds are manufactured overseas and are typically laced on plant material and sold as herbal incense or plant food in stores or over the Internet.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, increased use of synthetic marijuana has led to a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison-control centers. Adverse health effects include seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behavior, agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, racing heartbeat and elevated blood pressure.

read more at philly