Synthetic pot poses enforcement dilemma in Iowa

From beneath the counter at a Hiawatha gas station, the clerk pulled out a small, black packet branded as "Zero Gravity."

Local police and a state drug control official agree that no one really knows what chemicals are on a leafy substance inside. It's billed as superstrong incense but authorities suspect it may contain synthetic marijuana, selling as easily as a pack of gum in the Corridor.

Despite a recent state ban on six common chemicals found in these products, marketed as incense or potpourri, Iowa's law enforcement agencies and prosecutors are struggling to punish offenders. One main reason, according to police in Eastern Iowa, is because they have no test they can administer on the spot when they believe they have found synthetic marijuana in the products.

"We have (field testing) for heroin, cocaine, marijuana and LSD," Hiawatha Police Chief Dennis Marks said. "We have field tests for that, and we're lacking the test for (synthetic marijuana) right now."

"Doug Woolery, acting director, Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy"

The drug control business is a moving target in the best of circumstances. The synthetic drugs make it a very fast-moving target. Faster than what we are accustomed to.[/pullout_quote]Meanwhile, state drug enforcement officials are scrambling to catch up, as synthetic marijuana manufacturers tweak chemical compounds to avoid being caught in illegal activity, such as spraying their chemicals onto the products being sold.

Dale Woolery, acting director of Iowa's state drug-control office, said about 400 samples of suspected synthetic drugs have been submitted to the state crime lab in Ankeny. So far, most of the chemicals found are not banned in Iowa, but are part of the same synthetic cannabinoid family.

How it works

Drug makers spray home-made chemicals, usually several, on a carrier – a leafy substance that often is potpourri. The carrier is legal but the chemicals sprayed on them may or may not be. Some of the chemicals, when analyzed, are confirmed to be in the synthetic cannabinoid family. In general terms, "synthetic marijuana."

Elusive target

When police in Iowa suspect they have found synthetic marijuana their only current option is to send the substance to the state lab and wait weeks for results. If the lab analysis proves that any of the six banned chemicals are in the package, police can proceed with drug possession arrests and charges.

Police said it is a frustrating game when they are all but certain about what they have but cannot seize the products or make arrests without evidence.

"It's not like we're turning a blind eye," Cedar Rapids police Sgt. David Dostal said. "We're enforcing what we can enforce."

At the Hiawatha gas station, more than 20 of the products that raise red flags for police are available for sale. All of them are kept out of sight, underneath the counter, and must be requested by name. A reporter was able to purchase "Zero Gravity" and "Caution" on two separate occasions this month. Neither product has been confirmed to be synthetic marijuana.

Dangerous drug

Law officers in Linn and Johnson counties said there have been dozens of occasions where they have found suspected synthetic marijuana or people who are showing symptoms of using it. But so far, only two possession charges have been filed in Linn County. Both were in Marion, and in both, the defendant admitted using the drug.

In Iowa City, police have confirmed that a product called "Brain Eater" contains chemicals in the synthetic cannabinoid family, but none of the six banned in Iowa. It is sold at multiple shops, despite warnings police have issued not to sell the product, police said.

"They apparently manufacture this potpourri stuff, douse it with chemicals and it doesn't get stirred up or distributed equally," Iowa City police Sgt. Paul Batcheller said. "It's very dangerous if you smoke it, because it's unreliable. You could get a massive dose or no dose."

Dr. Matthew Aucutt, medical director the emergency department at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, said patients who have come to the emergency room after smoking synthetic marijuana are "the most difficult people I've ever seen in my lifetime." One young man had to be restrained by six police officers.

"He seemed like he was seeing things right in front of his face, and he was screaming," Aucutt said. "You just couldn't settle him down. His vital signs or heart rate was 150, and normal would be 100. He was sweating and unbelievably agitated."

One mother from Marion, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said her son used a product called "Botanical Potpourri," and became very ill." It just takes their guts out," she said. "When the kids smoke this, it makes them vomit."

Risky but popular

Despite the risks, one in nine high school seniors admitted, in a national poll released last month by the University of Michigan, trying synthetic marijuana within the last year. "K2" and "Spice" are the most well-known, but dozens of other brand names exist, including "Red Dragon Smoke" and "Pandora Potpourri."

Tests in Iowa have shown that two packages with the same brand name can have different chemical compounds inside, Woolery said.

"It's akin to playing Russian roulette," Woolery said. "You don't know what you're getting, and you don't know what's going to happen to you."

Aucutt said the long-term effects are largely unknown, but one person in Mercy's behavioral health unit has been in a "vegetative state" after smoking synthetic marijuana. The hospital declined to provide further specifics, citing health privacy laws.

"A lot of kids who smoke it will have no problems, and will tell their friends it's fine, but you could be the one with the bad reaction," Aucutt said.

Woolery said he will push for a stronger Iowa law on synthetic drugs during this legislative session. He said the proposal will be patterned after a bill that passed the U.S. House last month and is co-sponsored by Tom Latham, R-Iowa. It would ensure Iowa has the law it needs, and make it easier for authorities to deter the illegal activity, Woolery said.

But he said it will take much more than that to stop the problem.

"We won't legislate our way out of this," Woolery said. "It's going to take everyone working on it, becoming educated, parents talking with kids and communities not accepting these types of sales or the behavior that goes along with it."

Synthetic marijuana brand names

2

K2 Summit

K2 Spice

Spice

Red Dragon Smoke

Black Mamba

Buzz

Earthquake

Hush

iAroma

Stinger

Voodoo

Mojo

Smoke

Skunk

Syn

Pandora Potpourri

Sources: Iowa Pharmacy Board, law enforcement agencies