Last updated : November 11, 2024
Synthetic marijuana brand names like Spice and K-2 have become more and more recognized over the last few years, mostly due to the negative headlines regarding the potentially life-threatening consequences of using these so-called “designer drugs.”
These days, there is a new brand of synthetic marijuana that is emerging on the streets of Ohio and beyond, and it’s called Flakka. Experts say Flakka is relatively cheap, making this latest addition to the designer drug lineup especially attractive to younger users, but it poses the same risk of death as all of the varieties that came before it.
When you consider the kinds of effects these drugs have had on its users, it’s no wonder all of these substances have had so much bad press. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, those who use designer drugs like Spice have called Poison Control Centers around the country to report symptoms such as rapid heart beat, confusion, vomiting, hallucinations and elevated blood pressure. In some instances, these drugs have been linked to heart attacks.
What is even scarier is that these drugs are ever-changing in terms of the chemicals that are used to produce them, which creates a figurative moving target for law enforcement. Make no mistake, the dangers that have been associated with synthetic marijuana use have not gone unnoticed Drug Enforcement Agency; in fact the agency enacted a ban on the five active ingredients that are mot typically used to manufacture these drugs, rendering them Schedule I controlled substances that are illegal to buy, sell or possess. The manufacturers continue to make slight changes to the chemical compounds in their products, and they are doing so faster than the DEA can update its index of substances that should be outlawed.
Brooke Ehlers, a longtime chemist with the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab, said drugs like Flakka are usually new versions of existing designer drugs. She said Flakka, also called “$5 Insanity,” is a perfect example of this ongoing evolution in the synthetic marijuana market. It is closely related to a group known as Alpha-PVP, which cropped up in the form of a drug referred to as bath salts a few years back.
Ehlers likened the emergence of Flakka to the changes that occurred with another popular designer drug called “Molly,” which was billed as something new but later turned out to be Ecstacy.
“Same drug, different marketing,” said Ehlers.
Ehlers added that drugs such as Spice, K-2, and now Flakka are particularly worrisome because she is seeing cases involving a rising number of young people. As a professional, it’s a troubling trend. As a parent, the increase in the amount of young users is just plain terrifying, and it has her re-thinking about when she should talk to her own children about the dangers of these drugs.
Heather Cowden understands Ehler’s plight. Cowden has a 10-year-old girl and she recognizes that she will need to have the drug discussion with her child much sooner than she had planned. Ignoring the problem is simply not an option because it could be a matter of life and death, and that’s a risk she is not willing to take with her daughter.
“It could possibly kill you, that’s what scares me the most,” said Cowden.
In addition, Ehlers said designer drugs are largely a mystery because no one really knows what kinds of chemicals are in each type, and a person could end up feeling effects more like those that come with methamphetamine use than the calming effects commonly associated with smoking marijuana.
