Local Teens Experimenting With Fake Marijuana

People across the country are experimenting with synthetic marijuana to get high legally — Plum and Oakmont teens included.

While neither Plum High School Resource Officer Mark Kost nor Oakmont Police Chief David DiSanti have reported officers confiscating synthetic marijuana from anyone, they both suspect local teens are testing the drug.

“I know it’s out there,” Kost said. “I know that kids are using it.”

DiSanti agreed.

"The kids are experimenting with it, there's no doubt about it."

Synthetic marijuana, often referred to as brands K2 and Spice, is a blend of herbs and lab-created chemicals that mimic THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

As of Sept. 27, 2010, the U.S. Poison Control Centers received 1,500 calls relating to synthetic marijuana, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

As school resource officer, Kost teaches the D.A.R.E. program to 300 kids a week, there’s not enough information or studies conducted on synthetic marijuana to understand the full effects of smoking the drug, he said.

“I think it’s dangerous,” Kost said.

While the Plum police department is aware of synthetic marijuana, no officer has yet confiscated it.

“Yes, synthetic marijuana is a concern, but it hasn’t popped up on our radar,” Plum Lieutenant Jeff Armstrong said.

Armstrong highlighted that the drug is legal, and he said the police department isn’t implementing new strategies or pulling resources to uncover the drug.

"We're confiscating heroin," he said.

The department's priorities are focused on illegal drugs, which are more of a problem, Armstrong said.

Police also are as concerned about use of the legal drug salvia divinorum, typically referred to simply as salvia, DiSanti said.

A search on YouTube yields hundreds of videos of teens and young adults tripping on the drug.

The immediate reactions of the drug can be more dangerous than synthetic marijuana because it causes hallucinations, according to the DEA.

Police can confiscate a drug if it’s packaged like a drug, regardless of its chemical content, DiSanti said. Police will send it to the crime lab, and if it comes back negative, illegal drug charges won't hold up, he said.

Police can, however, charge someone in the right circumstances for the act of packaging something like a drug, especially in the case of a dealer trying to pass off baking powder as cocaine or an herb as marijuana, DiSanti said.

Synthetic marijuana is packaged and labeled under the guise of herbal incense, but in convenience stores, it is stored with cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Therefore, even though synthetic marijuana is considered a legal high, it should still be illegal for the majority of high school students who are not yet 18 years old.

Kost said Plum teens were most likely getting access to it like they would any other drug.

Plum Convenience on Saltsburg Road sells synthetic marijuana, and the drug is also sold online.

There have been mixed reactions among Plum students to synthetic marijuana, Kost said.

While some feel high when smoking the drug, most have not, he said. Students have even reported a bad after taste from smoking the drug similar to “old cough medicine.”

“I think it’s just something kids are trying because it’s there, and it’s legal,” Kost said.

Based on conversations with students, Kost said synthetic marijuana is being sold in $15, $30, and $40 packages. A $15 pack makes about 4-5 joints, or 12 pipe fillings, he said.

At Plum Convenience, a one-gram pack costs $20, and a three-gram pack costs $45.

With synthetic marijuana costing more than illegal marijuana, and having uncertain results, many students are most likely sticking with the real thing, Kost said.

“When there are children, you need to be concerned with any drug or alcohol that may alter their mood,” Armstrong said.

Parents can talk to their children about legal drugs as they would other drugs, police said.

Contact Plum or Oakmont police departments for information about their D.A.R.E. programs or check out theantidrug.com for advice on talking to your children about drugs.