Pubdate: Sat, 04 Aug 2012
Source: Alton Telegraph, The (IL)
Copyright: 2012 The Telegraph
Contact:  http://www.thetelegraph.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1207
Author: Jill Moon

NEW DRUG SCREEN IN ALTON FOR K-2

ALTON - A business built from the heart of its owner can help uncover 
whether someone is using synthetic marijuana, also known at K-2 or 
Spice, which is undetectable in most drug screens.

Drug Screening 24-7, located in the Riverbender.com Community Center 
building in Downtown Alton, formed about two months ago; it's one of 
a handful of drug screenings in the United States that can detect 
K-2, said its educational director, DeAnna Swain, of Holiday Shores.

The two telltale ingredients that the company's dip-stick test 
identifies are pentanoic acid, or JWH-018, and butanoic acid, or 
JWH-073. Drug Screening 24-7 tests for nearly every illicit drug, 
including marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and 
methamphetamines, as well as K-2.

Drug Screening 24-7's owner Kenny Waggoner, who attends Enjoy Church 
in Alton along with Swain and her husband, Thom, possessed a desire 
to keep drugs off of the street, said Swain, who taught high school 
English for eight years and currently is substitute teaching mostly 
in Alton, but also in Bethalto.

"He has a heart and a passion to do this; he thought it would fill a 
need in the community, and he wanted to be the first to fill that 
need," she explained.

Waggoner also owns Drug Testing Suppliers Inc.; the company's vice 
president is John Malson.

Waggoner's Certified Collection Professional Trainer license is 
through the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association.

"They have many names they use for synthetic marijuana, but every 
synthetic type will have those two ingredients," Swain said. "As much 
as manufacturers try to change the formulas, those two ingredients 
always will be present."

Even after police and lawmaker crackdowns in River Bend communities, 
such as Alton, for the sale of designer drugs such as "bath salts" 
and "herbal incense," these scientifically created substances remain 
very popular among their users. And earlier this week, Gov. Pat Quinn 
signed a law that will help combat the spread of synthetic drugs in Illinois.

"Young people and teens who try or use these type of drugs are 
dying," Waggoner said about the impetus for recent efforts to curtail 
the spread of these drugs.

Swain said she thinks the recent upsurge to raise awareness of these 
drugs is not only because of the increase in usage by young people, 
but also the ease of accessibility.

"And many parents are not aware that such drugs even exist or that 
various 'head' shops sell them under different disguises," said 
Swain, who has a speaking engagement about synthetic drugs in March 
and is scheduling more such talks.

As of March 2011, K-2 became classified as a Schedule 1 substance. 
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration needed the determination in 
order to protect the public from harm, said Swain, who is undergoing 
further training to raise awareness about K-2 dangers. With this 
determination, the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation 
and exportation of these designer drugs can lead to civil and 
criminal penalties.

There is no test to detect "bath salts" usage at this time, Swain 
said. She described "bath salts" as synthetic cocaine.

"Until recently, one of the advantages of using K-2 or Spice was that 
it couldn't be detected in drug screens," she said. "But this 
advantage in the last six weeks has been smashed."

Drug Screening 24-7 offers rapid-test dip-sticks for K-2 or Spice. 
The test uses a 501(k) FDA-approved device that uses an immunoassay 
enzyme test, which detects JWH-018 and JWH-073. Swain said the test 
is easy to use and that results show up in approximately five 
minutes. A test strip is placed in a urine specimen and instantly 
removed to wait for results.

Drug Screening 24-7 provides confidential testing in home or office 
that gives 95 percent to 98 percent accurate results. All products 
are FDA-approved.

Visit www.drugscreening24-7.com, email  call (618) 208-3810 or toll free 
(866) 931-4589 ext. 300 for more information. The business address is 
200 W. Third St., suite 506, Alton, IL 62002.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom