The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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February 15, 2010

Synthetic marijuana is coming

By Joe Malan, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

A new drug hasn’t yet become prevalent in Oklahoma, but Enid Police Department’s narcotics division is keeping a close eye on its activity.

The new drug, called K2, is a synthetic form of marijuana that is sold legally as a herbal incense. It is composed of a mixture of herbs and chemicals.

It is commonly sold in three-gram, $30 packs and comes in a variety of flavors, including “Blonde” and “Citrus,” said Detective Sgt. Rick Tanner.

K2 does not contain THC, said Tanner. For that reason, he said, the drug is becoming popular as it is not detectable in marijuana tests.

Tanner said the narcotics division is concerned K2 could make its way into northern Oklahoma from Kansas.

“Anytime someone tries to alter their state of mind with a foreign source is a big concern to us,” he said. “We’re looking forward to legislation being passed banning the chemical makeup of this (substance).”

If K2 does make its way into northern Oklahoma, which Tanner believes will happen, he wants police to be ready.

“We’d like to be ahead of everybody and get it done,” he said.

“It’s going to be coming from Kansas,” he said. “Everybody is getting the word out on what to look for throughout the state and in the narcotics community.

“I believe it’s probably here, it’s just not popular yet.”

A similar situation to the K2 issue occurred in 2008, when salvia divinorum made its way into Oklahoma.

Salvia divinorum is a plant native to Mexico that can cause hallucinations when smoked. Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control officials went to the Oklahoma Legislature to ban the material then.

Tanner hopes the same thing happens with K2.

“I’m just against anybody taking in anything in their body that’s going to alter your state of mind,” Tanner said.

A lot of people don’t know about it, he said, and each person might react to the drug in a different way.

“My caution is, don’t do it,” Tanner said. “Pretty plain and simple.”

The Kansas legislature has passed measures to outlaw K2. And one Oklahoma school administrator is seeing signs the drug is spreading to those struggling with addiction.

Tina Barker, director of Oklahoma Outreach Sober School, a school for students recovering from addiction, said she’s been told about the drug by her students.

“Probably about a month and a half ago we started getting some weird behavior, where it felt very much like using,” Barker said. “So we were wondering what was going (on) and through the grapevine, through the kids, they had found this thing that was allowing them to not get caught in the drug tests.”



The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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