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June 23, 2010Friday, June 25
June 25, 2010
A customer stops at the DABBS Quick Stop at the Chevron on West Park Avenue, and puts a package of “El Diablo” incense on the counter, then asks for rolling papers.
He breezes through the store exit with the incense in plain sight, without ever flinching or looking over his shoulder.
The incense the customer purchased, known as “K2,” “Spice,” “FIYA” and “Voodoo,” contains a synthetic THC substance that is said to mimic the effect of actual marijuana when inhaled.
But it is 100 percent legal.
As a result, more and more cases are emerging of teenagers inhaling the incense for a legal marijuana-like high.
“These are scientific research chemicals that are sprayed within these herbs in the incense,” said Bryan Roberto, spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The synthetic THC may cause a high that is a serious health risk, according to Roberto.
“Information from German officials based on their research in Europe shows that smoking the spice can have adverse effects to the heart, circulation and central nervous system and in some cases can cause unconsciousness, and may also lead to addiction” he said.
When the Quick Stop customer was advised of the danger in smoking the spice by the store clerk, he simply replied: “I could die crossing the street, too.”
Whether or not people who smoke the substance can die from it remains to be seen, but with the unknown nature of the substance, it cannot be ruled out.
“It’s not made in a controlled environment, we don’t know where the product is produced,” Roberto said. “A lot of it is coming from a foreign company so we don’t have any control over how they produce and manufacture these items.”
But the product’s appeal isn’t just for the legalized high, it also allows users to “pass” drug tests as well.
“Smoking this doesn’t show up in a urinalysis test,” the Quick Stop customer said.
“The drug tests are just not showing a positive reaction to marijuana,” Roberto said.
Roberto also added that some of the chemicals found in the spice can be stored in the body for long periods of time, and are known to have cancer-causing agents. He also explains the potency of the substance is cause for major concern.
“These chemicals are 60 to 80 times more effective than traditional THC, so it takes very little in order to establish the same effects,” he said.
The product is sold in 1- to 3-gram bags in various flavors in tobacco shops and gas stations around the country, but not for much longer in Louisiana, and a handful of other states that have already put a ban on the spice.
House Bill 173 has already made its way to the governor’s desk, and awaits a signature to legally take the product off the shelves for good.
Synthetic marijuana, such as “K2,” “Spice,” “FIYA” and “El Diablo,” will soon become illegal to purchase over the counter thanks to a bill awaiting Gov. Bobby Jindal’s OK. * Photo by JENNA FARMER
