Negative buzz builds over synthetic drug blend

NORFOLK

Inside the drawer underneath the store's cash register, city inspectors spotted dozens of clear bags filled with a leafy substance that resembled marijuana.

The bags were labeled as incense. But there was little doubt to Norfolk officials that they contained Spice, a synthetic blend of chemically treated, smokable leaves that are more potent than marijuana.

In the Tobacco Inn's back room that September day, Norfolk officials also found Spice in small vials and in foil-wrapped packages. There were big cardboard boxes filled with it, recalled deputy city attorney Cynthia Hall.

The drug has gotten so popular that the military has banned its use, and city and state officials now want to make it illegal.

Last week, Del. Paula Miller, D-Norfolk, submitted a request for legislation that would make the chemicals in Spice illegal. The State Crime Commission and attorney general's office are considering similar bills.

Nationally, other cities and states have also begun to ban the synthetic drug. Alabama and Kansas have outlawed it outright, and places such as Baltimore County, M d., have made it illegal to sell or possess Spice.

"We're kidding ourselves if we think this isn't a problem," Miller said. "And kids' response is always that it is not illegal. Well, it's about time to make it illegal."

Already this year, U.S. Poison Centers nationwide have received more than 1,500 calls about Spice. With names such as K2, RedXDawn and LA Spice, the drug is targeted at military service members and youths, city and state leaders said.

Hall said complaints about one store in Norfolk included reports that the business was selling the incense only to those in uniform.

Sold for about $30 for a 3-gram package, the drug has effects similar to marijuana but is said to bring about a more heightened sense of paranoia.

The Virginia Poison Center this year has heard reports of dozens of emergency room visits in the eastern and central part of the state because of Spice overdoses. In some cases, patients had elevated heart rates, and a few had seizures.

Others had heightened blood pressure and were extremely agitated. Such health problems are not normal with marijuana use, said the center's director, Dr. S. Rutherfoord Rose.

"It's clearly a bigger acute health problem than marijuana," Rose said. "So calling it a legal or safer alternative to marijuana is just wrong."

Part of the problem, he said, is that the full effects of Spice on humans have n't been studied. And its contents can be a mystery. The chemicals shellacked onto the dried leaves or weeds could be anything, Rose said.

"In a situation like this, you never know what you're ingesting into your body," said Michael Kennedy, who runs Norfolk's office of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

In March, the Navy deemed it illegal for any on- or off-duty member to use Spice. This week, the local Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board held hearings on 18 shops that have been found selling it. Board members are trying to determine whether the businesses should be placed on the military's off-limits list, which would ban service members from patronizing the establishments.

"No one has been placed off-limits yet, but we're looking very closely at that," said Cmdr. Frank D. Hutchison, a staff lawyer for the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region, which governs local bases.

"The Navy in particular have found it to be enough of a problem that we don't want our service members to use it."

Like the military, Norfolk officials also aren't waiting for the state to ban the drug.

The city's Convenience Store Task Force has found Spice in at least a handful of gas-station markets and tobacco shops during inspections throughout the city this year, deputy city attorney Hall said. Store owners have been warned by military commanders and city officials to take the product off their shelves and to stop selling it.

One Ward's Corner store, Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, closed soon after a city inspection in February found that much of its merchandise was Spice. However, the business has three locations on the Peninsula and openly advertises 15 different brands of "herbal incense" on its website.

Despite Norfolk's efforts, police officials in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach said their officers don't consider the drug to be a serious problem.

"We've seen a very little bit of it," Virginia Beach police spokesman Jimmy Barnes said. "But it's not a high priority like some of the other stuff we have on the streets."

Each time Norfolk officials find Spice in stores, they send it to be tested.

Toxicology tests on 64 packets or canisters of spice taken from Hampton Pipe and Tobacco found the presence of three chemical compounds, all of which are considered to be synthetic cannabinoids that produce effects similar to the THC found in marijuana, Hall said.

The city chose not to charge the owners with violations because they closed the store, she said.

The store's owners did not return multiple phone calls. Other owners and managers whose businesses either used to sell or currently sell Spice - including both owners of the Tobacco Inn - also declined to comment or did not return messages.

In the case of the Tobacco Inn, the owners were charged with five misdemeanor counts of fire code violations and one misdemeanor count of selling drug paraphernalia - items that could be used for smoking crack, according to a city report.

Their cases are pending.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com