Synthetic marijuana has made its way into Russell County and the problem needs to be addressed, was the message of the Russell County Partners in Prevention (RCPIP) last week.

The legal product is sold in retail outlets such as convenience stores under the guise of being either “herbal incense” or “potpourri” and are labeled as “not for human consumption” to mask their intended purpose and avoid FDA regulatory oversight of the manufacturing process, according to the Office of National Drug Council Policy (NDCP) website.

The drug goes by many names, such as fake pot, K2, K4, Spice, Herbals, Incense, Triple X, Herbal Buds and dozens of others, from a synthetic marijuana fact sheet handed out at last Thursday’s meeting.

The product is recognizable because of the flashy packaging associated with it, along with the declaration of it being incense, or potpourri, not for human consumption.

Synthetic marijuana products consist of an inert plant material that has some resemblance to marijuana that has been laced with various substances, including a cannabinoid derivative that mimics THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

“Synthetic marijuana is basically a spray on chemical they spray on a plant, or wheat, or something like that they’ll chop up and spray it on,” said Lauren Hayes of RCPIP. “So it’s not regulated. You’re not guaranteed you’re going to have this much dosage on this plant and this much dosage on the other, at all, so it’s not a consistent dosage of the chemical that’s been sprayed on the plant.”

The initial appearance of synthetic cannabinoids in herbal incense products in the United States first occurred in 2008, according to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) forensic laboratory reports, and was being called “Spice” or “K2.”

The drug has gained acceptance and growing usage among high school students. Its popularity is in at least part due to it not showing up by normal drug testing methods.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, in their 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey, one in nine high school seniors have used synthetic marijuana in the past year.

“Our teens are finding it very popular,” said Hayes. “It’s being used highly today by our teens and our college students.”

While not illegal in many states, the product has been declared a risk to public health by the NDCP and health warnings have been issued by numerous state and local public health departments.

The drug, which Hayes said can have similar effects to “meth” or “acid,” and that the “high” can be between five and 700 times greater than regular marijuana.

It can lower blood pressure, produce a headache, lowers motor coordination, produce a loss of concentration and affect short term memory.

“Right now there are ordinances in Warren County banning the substance,” said Hayes. “They are working on an ordinance in Pulaski County to ban the substance. We may be looking at that as well because it’s becoming a problem in our society, in Russell County.”

Since the meeting, Pulaski County Fiscal Court held its second reading of the ordinance banning the sale of synthetic cannabinoids and passed the measure last Monday evening.

More than 40 local businesses in Pulaski County had received a letter informing them that the measure was likely to pass.

County Attorney Kevin Shearer said he has received a copy of the ordinance that Pulaski County was considering and subsequently passed and that he will be meeting with Judge Gary Robertson to discuss the issue.

One difficulty in passing laws that would make substances illegal is that slight alterations of the psychoactive molecule makes it a different substance outside the regulations while effectively maintaining its psychoactive properties; the result of which being why many counties are passing ordinances stipulate all cannabinoids.

Long term side effects of these synthetic drugs have not been determined, but there are reports of paranoid delusions and hallucinations that can last long periods.

Hayes related a story of a girl who supposedly smoked “one puff” and became temporarily paralyzed.

“I believe we already have two cases here that have been reported to our ER,” said Deputy Sheriff Clete McAninch. “So it’s here, and they are smoking it. It’s being used.”

Synthetic marijuana is not the same as another designer synthetic drug made illegal known as “bath salts,” which, with similar misleading labeling and was commonly carried by convenience stores at the front counter, are reported to have an amphetamine like “high.”

According to KRS 218A.1426, “trafficking in synthetic cannabinoid agonists or piperazines is a Class A misdemeanor.”

Senator Rand Paul is currently “holding” three bills from being brought to the floor of the U.S. Senate for debate that seek to prohibit new synthetic drugs, reasoning, according to reports from the Lexington Herald-Leader, that enforcement of drug laws should be state and local issues, not federal.

“Holding” the bill does not mean that it cannot be brought for vote, but adds additional hurdles to debate and a requirement that there would need to be a 60 vote override of Paul’s objection to bring the measure up for consideration