With Popular Singer-songwriter Ryo Aska Appearing In Court On Drug Charges On Thursday, We Examine The Darker Side Of Substance Abuse

Some kid shot up a dose again tonight Pushed back by his other self Even if you were to buy your dream You need self-control No one talks about hopes and dreams All that's there is something better, something new, a better way The name is "Kicks Street" - the city of desire

- - Lyrics from "Kicks Street" (1998), Ryo Aska

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By ROBERT SHARPE Arlington, Virginia

Regarding the Aug. 7 article "Curbs afoot as narcotic quasi-legal herbs slip through regulatory cracks": The increased use of synthetic cannabinoids is an unintended side effect of the war on natural marijuana. Consumers are turning to potentially toxic drugs made in China and sold as research chemicals before they are repackaged as legal incense.

Expanding the drug war will only increase criminal justice costs during an economic downturn. Chemists will tweak formulas to stay one step ahead of the law and two steps ahead of the drug tests. New versions of synthetic drugs won't be safer. Misguided efforts to protect children from drugs are putting children at risk.

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The use of "dappo habu" (quasi-legal herbs) that are dried and mixed with stimulants to make narcotics is spreading, and many people are ending up in hospitals for drug poisoning.

Some people under the influence of the herbs, which are often smoked, have even caused traffic accidents.

Figures by the Metropolitan Police Department show that increasing numbers of younger people are using them.

Between Jan. 1 and May 30 alone, 100 people in Tokyo needed to be rushed to hospitals after inhaling the herbs, including 51 in their 20s and 13 under 20 years old. The youngest was a 14-year-old junior high school student, according to MPD statistics.

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