Sue Scheff: Fake Drug has Real Consequences

As parents scramble to keep up with the challenges of raising teens today, they are now thrown another curve ball. Most know that smoking pot, although not legal and seems to becoming more addictive among youths, is a trend that some parents brush under the rug with the justification that "it is only pot."

Now parents have a new concern and it is is being called, K2 - or "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" - that is commonly sold in head shops as incense and referred to as the "fake-pot". Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing.

Synthetic marijuana is the trendy new way to get high, which is legal, but consequences could be dangerous.  It is marketed as incense, however many are trying to get it banned.  The package warns not to consume the product, however this is exactly what teens and others are doing.

Nationwide, the American Association of Poison Control Centers logged 567 cases across 41 states in which people had suffered a bad reaction to spice during the first half of 2010. Just 13 cases were reported in 2009.  These reactions include seizures and elevated heart rates.

To date, Kansas was the first to ban this product followed by Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee.  Is Florida next in line?

Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.

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