Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2014
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Paresh Dave

150 HELD IN 29-STATE RAID ON SYNTHETIC DRUGS

Agents Conduct the Sweep After More Than 100 Texans Fell Ill From 
Man-Made Cannabis.

A week after more than 100 people in Texas fell ill from synthetic 
cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Administration has arrested at least 
150 people in a 29-state sweep to combat the use of substances that 
mimic the highs of marijuana, methamphetamine or LSD.

Although not always marketed as drugs, products such as K2, Spice, 
Molly and Purple Wave have come under increasing scrutiny because of 
their popularity among teenagers and young adults. The DEA considers 
the synthetics illegal and dangerous, though the industry has tried 
to skirt the rules and challenge prosecutions by making minor 
ingredient changes and labeling the goods as "not for human use."

Police and hospitals in Texas have said that a bad batch of K2 may 
have contributed to overdoses that required hospitals to treat more 
than 100 people in the first few days of May, mainly in Austin and 
Dallas. Sale of K2 is illegal under Texas state law.

"There's a cluster of people with severe anxiety, some with seizures, 
that could be because of synthetic cannaboids," said Dr. Miguel 
Fernandez, director of South Texas Poison Center. "I would caution 
people not to use them because they are not like typical marijuana."

The DEA's effort Wednesday, which stretched from California to 
Florida, involved the seizure of more than $20 million in cash and 
products. The DEA said hundreds of thousands of individual packets of 
ready-to-sell synthetic drugs were hauled off.

It was the second phase of an ongoing crackdown, the agency said. 
Last year, federal agents arrested at least 227 people and seized $60 
million in cash and assets, including the equivalent of about 3 
million single use packets of K2.

Many of the ingredients are made at low cost in Chinese labs that 
take online orders. Some of Wednesday's seizures took place at 
package screening locations at U.S. borders.

Agents also conducted raids in Orlando, Fla.; Iowa City, Iowa; and 
Birmingham, Ala.

Aurora, Colo., Police Chief Dan Oates said his department joined the 
sweep after a 15-year-old boy died last summer of synthetic marijuana 
poisoning. He had vial of a product called Monkey Spice next to his 
bed, Oates said.

Authorities raided 10 locations in Aurora, including a jewelry shop 
and some corner markets. Though no Spice was found, several people 
were arrested.

The DEA has said some of the money from synthetic drug sales is being 
sent to the Middle East, including Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. And some 
of the products are marketed as jewelry cleaners or even "plant 
food," the agency said in a statement.

The drugs usually produce the same effects as their better-known 
counterparts such as MDMA or cocaine. They can cause vomiting, 
hallucinations and high blood pressure.

Last year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration reported 29,000 emergency department visits nationwide 
in 2011 as a result of fake marijuana usage, up from 11,000 in 2010.
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