Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jul 2013
Source: Odessa American (TX)
Copyright: 2013 Odessa American
Contact:  http://www.oaoa.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/708
Author: Michelle Brownstone

ODESSA CONTINUES TO BATTLE SYNTHETIC DRUG PROBLEM

Local Hospital Sees Increase in Synthetic Drug Patients

Before October, Tonya Lane had no idea what synthetic drugs were.

Then she received a call from her 14-year-old son's junior high 
school. He was found in possession of synthetic marijuana on school 
property and was asked to leave.

"I'm really upset this stuff could be sold," Lane, 44, said. "He's 
been in the hospital two times for a week at a time and had a seizure."

Lane said when her son started using the drug, in colorful packaging 
and marketed as incense she said is geared toward youth, he changed 
by becoming violent, angry and eventually suicidal.

Odessa Police Department spokesman Steve LeSueur said while there are 
several different forms of synthetic drugs, including synthetic 
marijuana and bath salts, all remain equally problematic because they 
do not contain a standard through the FDA or any scientific regulation.

"The main issue with synthetic drugs is that the potency can be 
extremely higher than that of the illegal drug they are attempting to 
mimic, causing adverse reactions that have not been seen outside of 
overdoses," LeSueur said in an email.

Medical Center Hospital Registered Nurse Manuel Guerrero said the 
symptoms Lane's son faced are common of synthetic drug use.

Guerrero said the hospital is seeing more than double the number of 
patients treated for using synthetic drugs than they did just two 
years ago and estimated they see at least 20 cases each week.

The majority of patients are in their teens and 20s, he said.

"The long-term effects of synthetic drug use are unknown," Guerrero 
said. "A substantial amount of patients come in from synthetic drug 
use. Symptoms range from aggression and agitation to psychosis and 
paranoia. We have seen people with hallucinations, seizures, heart 
racing, nausea and vomiting. Occasionally we get people who are 
unable to speak."

Odessa Police Chief Tim Burton said synthetic drugs remain an 
emerging problem in the city.

"It is increasing in volume," Burton said. "It's a problem that is 
increasing in the number of incidents we see anecdotally day in and day out."

Lane said so far she has spent more than $5,000 out of pocket on medical bills.

Her son is doing much better and she is homeschooling him now, she 
said. However, she is outraged that synthetic drugs are still being 
sold at several locations in the city.

Anna Scroggins, the founder of New Day Counseling, an outpatient drug 
facility in Odessa, has been treating clients with alcohol and drug 
addictions for more than 10 years.

New Day receives two or three phone calls every week inquiring about 
synthetic drug use treatment, she said.

"Stores do not get in trouble because they're calling it potpourri," 
Scroggins said. "They're putting on the packaging that it's not meant 
for human consumption, but if you look up the definition of 
potpourri, it says can be or is ingested through the nose and that 
makes it made for human consumption. It's just a play on words. It's 
a huge battle. There is no law in the state that says you cannot sell 
potpourri."

Odessa One Stop Grocery is one of several stores in Odessa selling 
packages of the incense product Scroggins calls synthetic marijuana.

"I have no problem with this," the clerk behind the counter said. "No 
more than tobacco or alcohol. It's all the same, just another product 
that comes through."

Scroggins presented the Odessa City Council with an unofficial 
petition to ban synthetic drugs signed by more than 700 Odessans at 
its last meeting on June 25.

"We have limited resources for treatment in our area," she said. 
"(There are many) that are not getting the proper treatment."

While laws do exist making certain synthetic drugs illegal, formulas 
and chemicals are changed to get around those laws, Scroggins said.

"There is a virtual endless combination of chemical mixtures to 
produce different compounds," Burton said. "The ability to 
specifically identify any given compound and pass it as against the 
law has become a bit of a moving target."

Odessa Mayor David Turner said he's working with the district 
attorney to try to find the best way to approach the complex problem.

"We have been looking into this since I was elected," Turner said 
June 25. "I've been working with (Ector County District Attorney) 
Bobby Bland and (County Attorney) Scott Layh to go at it a different 
way. We want to go at it at a civil side or do something to put these 
people out of business."

According to the Associated Press, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration and other federal agencies served hundreds of search 
and arrest warrants to synthetic drug distributors across the country 
last week. The AP also reported that millions of dollars in profits 
end up in Middle Eastern countries.

Scroggins said her goal now is to appeal to city leaders and 
emergency room directors to help them ban the sale of all synthetic drugs.

"I want our city officials and emergency room directors to try to 
come up with something," Scroggins said. "We need to incorporate 
other ordinances to stop this."

"We need to get this stuff off the shelves," Lane said. "Not just in 
this city but across the entire nation."
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