Accessible Drugs Lethal to Teenagers
OLIVIA CHEUNG
News Editor
DIANA LI
Staff Writer
It’s a Monday morning and a high school student walks into class with bloodshot eyes and odd behavior. The student sits down and there is an unmistakable smell of herbs, leading to a referral from the teacher to the dean’s office. At this point, one would expect the student to test positive for illegal substances and consequently be punished through suspension or even expulsion, but what if the student was released without any charges?
K2, otherwise known as synthetic marijuana, is a combination of herbs mixed with a lab-produced strain of marijuana that is usually sold as incense or bath salts.
K2 originated from Clemson University in South Carolina, in an effort to create therapeutic drugs.
However, the problem is that synthetic marijuana is dangerously similar to actual marijuana.
Under standard testing, the active ingredients that creates the “high” are not detectable; thus, substance abuse can be overlooked when drug tests come out negative.
This relatively new form of a legal, high-inducing drug was banned in March. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has placed a national one-year ban on the drug, while more testing and research is being used to determine whether or not the chemicals should be permanently banned.
The herbs are currently classified as Schedule I controlled substances, meaning that they are unsafe, highly abused substances that have no medical benefits.
These drugs are especially lethal to high school and college-age students, since they are typically created by individual sellers. In a CNN article, K2 was said to be most likely manufactured in a dorm room environment.
“There is no way, outside of a controlled laboratory environment […] to determine with any accuracy what the potentially harmful effects may be,” DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said.
Health and drug officials’ main concern is K2’s unregulated manufacturing process. It has been known to cause nausea, panic attacks, hallucinations and seizures.
In this year alone, K2 was responsible for hundreds of emergency room visits, 567 calls to poison-control hotline and the death of 18-year-old David Rozga in Iowa.
Due to these dangerous effects, schools, including Alhambra High, have taken precautionary measures against legalized drugs.
“They’re treated like drugs. Any type of drug, unless prescribed by a doctor, is not allowed on campus,” Assistant Principal of Student Services Chris Takeshita said. “Those that are prescribed must go through the nurse’s office.”
K2 is not the only legal, threatening drug. Salvia divinorum itself is a psychoactive plant that can induce dissociative effects, such as visions and other hallucinatory experiences.
It is typically chewed or smoked to produce a high that is more intense than Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). Immediate effects that have been reported include: uncontrollable laughter, past memories, visions of membranes, films and various two-dimensional surfaces, sensations of motion, and overlapping realities.
A survey of 500 Salvia users was conducted by researchers from the University of San Francisco, which sought to identify some common lingering after effects such as: increased insight (47%), increased mood (44.8%), calmness (42.2%), increased connection with the universe or nature (39.8%), weird thoughts (36.4), a floating feeling (32%), increased sweating (28.2%), a rise in body temperature (25.2%), mind racing (23.2%), lightheadedness (22.2%) and increased self-confidence (21.6%).
Twenty-six states, excluding California, currently have statewide laws that prohibit adults from possessing salvia. It is also illegal to provide salvia for minors in California, Maine and Texas.
These types of drugs are raising concerns and rehabilitation facilities, such as Homeboy Industries, have taken notice.
“My mother […] works at Homeboy Industries, where they [want to inform people [about the dangers] of these drugs,” freshman Celeste Sanchez said. “They want to help people who have issues with drugs and gang violence.”
With all these dangerous substances present in many communities, it is up to an individual to make the right choice.