Who knew! That with all the great array of useful things we get from China, that China is also exporting to us chemicals that go into making dangerous drugs. When we think of Chinese imports, we think of household goods, toys, etc. What we probably don’t think of is drugs.
Apparently the Chinese are capitalizing on the fact that Americans like their drugs. However, the Chinese aren’t using dangerous cartels as pushers – they are legally exporting the chemicals that go into making synthetic marijuana (called K2 or spice) and the bath salts that we have seen so much about in the news. The imported mixtures are then sold in head shops, convenient stores and online. Narconon Georgia has recently been receiving an increased amount of phone calls inquiring about what help is available for these new drugs. In doing research we were amazed with what we discovered.
The first thing we found in our investigation is that K2 is supposed to be illegal in Georgia. In March of this year “Chase’s Law” was signed by Governor Nathan Deal. The law was named in memory of Chase Burnett, who drowned after smoking synthetic marijuana. In the presence of Chase’s parents the Governor signed the bill to outlaw all forms of the drug.
While the governor’s office has done a good job of getting this stuff off the shelves in many places, some places are reportedly still selling it.
Some head shops had become convenient “one stop shops” for K2 smokers. The combination of herbs, spices and synthetic THC (the ingredients of K2), the rolling papers and pipes used to smoke it, can all be conveniently purchased in one place. If a person wants bath salts they can get those too. No more hassle of dealing with prescriptions – it’s easy now. And despite the fact that these compounds are illegal it is not likely that all vendors are going to be willing to stop selling these synthetic drugs.
Customers range from high school students to ex-convicts, and as online forums continue to tout the virtues of K2, it is likely that the customer base will continue to grow.
This is frightening. There is a growing base of young customers who have no idea where their next puff will take them. The ingredients don’t have to be listed, because K2 is not sold for human consumption, so no one knows what they are really smoking. This scary set of circumstances and the attendant deaths of young people, are exactly why Nathan Deal signed a bill to make K2 illegal.
According to reports, there are thousands of Chinese labs ready to take orders for the chemicals that go into making K2. One gimmick is to keep changing the names of the substances or sell them as incense. We are going to have to be clever to stay one step ahead of the problem.
Our Governor had the right idea. We don’t’ want synthetic drugs in Georgia. Let’s stand behind Chase’s parents and make our voices heard.
