Of Salts And Spice--More on Synthetic 'Legal Highs'

Earlier this week, I wrote about the so-called Legal Highs: bath salts and aromatic potpourris, clearly marked "Not For Human Consumption" but marketed with a wink and nudge to informed stoners who want to beat criminal charges and urine tests. They will get you high, mimicking the effects of Ritalin, cocaine, Ecstasy and marijuana. But if something goes wrong, well, who the hell would smoke or snort a bath salt, anyway?

 

 For some years now, K2, or Spice, as been the most popular of the synthetic cannabis alternatives. 

So popular, that an increasing number of states have banned the sale of K2. But before we go dancing in the streets and declaring a victory for the War on Drugs, guess what? The same creative chemists who brought us K2 and Spice have created a new product!

Barely Legal Incense!! The word is that it is even more potent than K2. "Spiced Up", you might say. With a couple of molecules switched here and a compound changed there, it slips through the ban on Spice because it is a different product!

And besides, it's clearly marked 'NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION'. (nudge, wink...)

Follow the link to read the whole story: Partnership for a Drug Free America: Synthetic Marijuana

Rough Justice

Drug Court seemed like such a good idea when it came to my little corner of the world.

It took me, and a lot of other people-helper types, by surprise. Delaware County hasn't been known, to put it very mildly, for its enlightened attitudes toward issues of mental health and substance use disorders. But it was a start, right?

The fundamental concept behind Drug Court is that the court acts as a supercharged big brother, empowered to mandate everything from incarceration to rehab, utilizing an in-your-face approach in weekly sessions to make sure that participants are staying on the straight and narrow, as well as compliant with the treatment programs with which they are involved. 

Great idea, isn't it?

Sure, when everything goes smoothly. Which it rarely does in the world of substance use disorders. Then we end up with messes like this:

A 19 year old male is picked up with three of his friends in a parked car, smoking pot. A cop sees one of them throw a blunt out the window, and they are busted. The boy holding the stash gives it up, and the sharp District Attorney realizes that the way the pot is packaged, in little plastic envelopes or "dime bags" means that he can be charged with trafficking, even though the amount is minimal and there is absolutely no indication of any drug dealing going on.

The 19 year old is terrified; a trafficking charge is a felony and carries serious jail time. He doesn't want to go to jail. He pleads guilty to a felony in order to get into drug court and avoid jail time. 

Happy ending?  Not.

Anyone who has worked with young people, knows exactly what I am going to say next. Treatment of young adults is complicated. They struggle, they fail. They take two steps forward and one step back. 

But, you'd figure that a well-trained drug court with a addiction counselor as an advisor would know that and plan accordingly, right?

Wrong. Oh they cut him a couple of breaks, alright. But when that didn't work, the judge decided he had enough, and sent the boy to jail.

To the State Penitentiary at Graterford, for a year and a half.

Six months longer than the District Attorney asked for. 

So, the end result is a boy who is not even legal drinking age is doing a year and a half in a maximum security state prison for smoking pot with his buddies in a parked car.

Enlightened, isn't it?