Spice: SPPD urging area teens
to avoid illegal synthetic marijuana

February 11, 2015
Santa Paula News

Santa Paula Police are asking that area teens be sure to avoid what was once a legal form of synthetic marijuana that can you make sick... really, really sick.

Last week an article in the Santa Paula Times revealed that a notice to parents and students was posted on the website of the Santa Paula Unified School District that noted five students “had a serious reaction after smoking synthetic marijuana, known on the street as ‘Spice’ “ over the last 10 days.

The notice, signed by Superintendent Alfonso Gamino stated, “These are just the students we know about, there may be others... It appears there is some very bad stuff in our community at this time.”

“Spice” said Santa Paula Police Senior Officer Allen Macias is indeed very bad stuff with a tangled history.

“It was legal at one time and people could get it at smoke shops,” said Macias, but primarily due to side effects, now “It’s a misdemeanor to sell, possess or distribute it.”

One local smoke shop had carried Spice when it was legal but Macias said it now claims it no longer handles the synthetic marijuana.

According to the NIDA for Teens website, “Spice is a mix of herbs (shredded plant material) and manmade chemicals with mind-altering effects. It is often called ‘synthetic marijuana’ because some of the chemicals in it are similar to ones in marijuana; but its effects are sometimes very different from marijuana, and frequently much stronger. It is most often labeled ‘Not for Human Consumption’ and disguised as incense.”

Because the chemicals used in “Spice” have a high potential for abuse and no medical benefit, the Drug Enforcement Administration has made many of the active chemicals most frequently found in “Spice” illegal. However, the people who make these products try to avoid these laws by using different chemicals in their mixtures.

Sellers of “Spice” products try to lead people to believe they are “natural” and therefore harmless, but they are neither.

“ ‘Spice’ is like bath salts,” said Macias of another so-called designer drug that was nicknamed for the product it resembled.

“People started having bad reactions to bath salts, that’s when it was realized it could be dangerous... ‘Spice’ is the same thing,” causing reactions in users that led to both synthetic drugs being classified as illegal.

The NIDA notes that ‘Spice’ products are labeled “not fit for human consumption” and are illegal not only in the United States and but also most European countries. Its side effects, like the ingredients, often vary, but emergency rooms report seeing people with rapid heart rates, vomiting, agitation, and hallucinations.

Using ‘Spice’ can lead to abuse and even addiction as the body builds up tolerance to the drug’s effects over time and craves a higher dose to achieve the same effect.

“When you look at it,” said Macias, “it looks like crushed potpourri... in years past people would say, ‘that’s not weed, it’s Spice,” but now there is a law that we do and have enforced,” although the outbreak publicized by the school district notice is new.

When told that the school district stated that ‘Spice’ could be turned into the SPPD without any questions asked, Macias said he was unsure if that is the case: “I didn’t say that,” he said, as “We want to know where people are getting this... “ 

Macias asked if anyone has any information about the sales, possession or use of ‘Spice’ to contact the SPPD at 805-525-4474.

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, call the SPPD recorded Tip Hotline, 933-5691 or email tips to tipline@spcity.org

NIDA, a project of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), was created for middle and high school students and their teachers. Its website http://teens.drugabuse.gov/ provides accurate and timely information for use in and out of the classroom.





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