City of Rolla, Missouri

We have got to become outraged at what it going on in our country and community! I have a very important issue to talk about today, it’s so called legal Synthetic substances that mimic marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs that are making users seriously ill, causing seizures and hallucinations and even killing some people. The stores that sell them are making serious money in their pockets at the expense of our kids.

This morning while on my way to work dispatch advised there was a man in a vehicle parked on a parking lot that had just taken synthetic substance. The man was panicking and having problems breathing. I was first on the scene and contacted the male as he was in the driver’s seat of his car. He stated he had just shot up with a synthetic drug called “pump it” and he felt like he was having a heart attack and he could not walk, he was very afraid. We got him medical treatment and as of the writing of this he is still there. He had several syringes and synthetic drugs in his car.

Yesterday I worked the road with the street crimes unit and a few road officers, we made about thirty traffic stops in a two hour period. On about twenty of the traffic stops with found synthetic drugs. I made it a point to talk to the people about the synthetics drugs, one person just bought $120.00 worth and the others any place from $40.00 to $100.00. One person had it hidden in his butt crack. Here is an overview of what they had to say. “ I thought it was ok to use since it’s legal”, “ To be honest with you they need to outlaw this stuff, it’s bad I have had friends get messed up on it”, “it’s a good high, it’s legal and won’t make me fail a drug test”, I asked would you want your kids to use it. “Hell no”. About half the people we stopped were from other counties coming here to buy it. These drugs are dangerous; we have been having way too many problems with these drugs hurting people. I could tell you too many stories about local cases where kids have been taken to E.R. for treatment and case’s where kids had to get psychiatric treatment because of these poisons being sold.

Reports of misuse are widespread. In Kentucky, authorities say a young woman driving on a highway after using bath salts became convinced her 2-year-old was a demon. She allegedly stopped the car and dropped the child on his head. He survived and was taken from his mother's custody. A Hawaii man pleaded guilty to attacking his girlfriend and trying to throw her off an 11th-floor balcony while high on "Spice. A man who hallucinated after taking bath salts used a hunting knife to slit his face and stomach. The products are often packaged as incense or bath salts and can be obtained for around $30.00 at many Sex Shops, Liquor Stores and gas stations. There only true purpose is to be sold as drugs to get high, but these companies are one step ahead of our laws and it’s all about them making money. They will always say that no that’s not why we are selling them, but they are lying. As more people experiment with them, the results are becoming evident at hospitals where users are show up with problems like labored breathing, rapid heartbeats, extreme paranoia and delusions. The symptoms can persist for days. Chemicals have been implicated in nine deaths "Many of the users describe extreme paranoia," said Dr. Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center. "The recurring theme is monsters, demons and aliens. A lot of them had suicidal thoughts."

The chemicals are suspected in at least nine U.S. deaths since last year, The young man got high last June on a marijuana look-alike product called "K2" and complained to a friend "that he felt like he was in hell," his father said. Though the teen had never suffered from depression, he went home, found a shotgun and killed himself.

The recent surge in activity has not gone unnoticed by authorities. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently used emergency powers to outlaw five chemicals found in synthetic pot, placing them in the same category as heroin and cocaine. But manufacturers are quick to adapt, often cranking out new formulas that are only a single molecule apart from the illegal ones.

The new type of synthetic drugs started only a few years ago, in Europe. The products were typically made in China, India and other Asian nations and soon arrived in Britain and Germany, Products include ‘Purple Wave,' ‘Bliss’. In the United States, fake marijuana was last year's big seller, marketed under brands such as "K2" or "Spice." This year, the trend is "bath salts" with names like "Purple Wave" and "Bliss."Besides being cheap and easily obtained, they do not show up in common drug tests.

Synthetic marijuana typically involves dried plant material sprayed with one of several chemical compounds; the compounds were never tested on humans. It's packaged to look like pot, and users typically smoke it, but experts say the high is more comparable to cocaine or LSD.

The bath salts are not water-softening products at all but crystalized chemicals that are snorted, swallowed, smoked or shut up. They contain two powerful stimulants: which mimic cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine.

In some patients, symptoms can last for days. "One described it as like being on cocaine, but 10 times worse," according to the Carolinas Poison Center in Charlotte, N.C. Users assume that the products are safe because they are available in stores, even though they are typically labeled "not for human consumption." These products are in an unregulated, unlicensed industry no one knows the strength of the ingredients. You don't know what you're taking.

In addition to the DEA's recently adopted ban, a federal law allows for prosecution of "analogue" drugs that mimic the effects of illegal substances. But authorities acknowledge the challenge of stopping the drugs' spread. DEA experts are evaluating as many as 50 new synthetics. The possibilities are endless, There's probably hundreds of formulations out there. Some states ban substances at least 20 states have banned chemicals found in fake marijuana. At least nine states have banned substances found in bath salts, and 25 have laws in the works.

We are fighting an uphill battle. These chemists are pretty sophisticated and creative and are going to stay one step ahead of us. We are having meetings and trying to get the laws changed and hope soon we will be able to shut the places down that are selling these poisonous products. Please educate your family and friends on these products. Also you can call or write your Government officials that can be found on the internet. Thank you. Chief Kearse

Chief Mark Kearse