Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Rhode Island DRE in the news
Providence Journal, August 22, 2010
Police around the country have been taking such blood tests for decades, under various rules in different states. Back in 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a blood sample taken because a police officer believed a California motorist was drunk did not violate the driver’s constitutional rights.
Once blood tests are taken, the issue gets complicated, as there’s no national standard on what level of various drugs causes impairment. Under Rhode Island law, the presence of certain drugs is enough to convict one of driving under the influence, but the state’s traffic-safety resource prosecutor, Jay Sullivan in the Attorney General’s Office, says there needs to be some discretion when drugs in a driver’s blood have been prescribed and taken appropriately.
Across Rhode Island, police departments that believed they should test a driver’s blood for impairment after serious and fatal crashes sought search warrants to do so, and judges granted them, according to Journal archives dating to at least 1984.
But those search warrants ground to a halt in December 2000, after the state Supreme Court ruled that state law precluded the police from obtaining them. However, Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger urged the General Assembly to amend the law so blood samples could again be taken from unwilling drivers.
Thus began a philosophical and legislative debate that pitted supporters, such as the state police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, against opponents, including the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Office of the Public Defender.
Then-Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse quickly announced he was preparing legislation to allow testing. With equal swiftness, the incoming chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee –– Joseph A. Montalbano, a North Providence Democrat who later became Senate president –– urged caution, so as not to trample on Fourth Amendment rights, which protect residents from unreasonable search and seizure.
When the state elected a new attorney general in 2002, Patrick C. Lynch took up the cause and championed it.
In a state considered very liberal when it comes to –– as Lombardi says –– “invasive things like taking blood from people,” the battle in the General Assembly lasted nine straight years.
The bill that became law in November, nearly a decade after Weisberger urged such change, was carefully crafted, says Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. Of the 45 states that let the police obtain blood samples after someone is killed or seriously injured in a car crash, Healey says, Rhode Island is among 17 where they must first obtain a search warrant. To do so, they must have “probable cause.”
So what is probable cause?
“It’s a very fluid and elastic concept that changes from one situation to the next,” says Mark Neil, senior lawyer of the National Traffic Law Center, which helps prosecutors, judges and the police with traffic-safety cases. “From a legal standpoint: is it sufficient evidence to warrant a reasonable person to essentially believe and act on the information?”
In Rhode Island, the police do not have probable cause to seek a search warrant to draw blood just because someone has been involved in a fatal or serious-injury crash, says Jay Sullivan, who is not related to Richard Sullivan.
Do the police have probable cause to draw a driver’s blood when she says she mixed Methadone, a prescription drug, with marijuana?
Jay Sullivan says he cannot answer that specifically, because the question is tied too closely to the ongoing Charlestown case. But in general, he said, such an admission would tend to make a police officer “more alert to look for the signs and symptoms” of drug use.
“If they see someone isn’t able to talk or walk or find their license, they may be suspicious someone might be under the influence,” he said.
In the Charlestown crash involving Reale, Chief Shippee says his officers had no probable cause: “There were no outward signs of intoxication or being under the influence, which is a requirement for that.”
Reale’s admission of drug use that day wasn’t enough, Shippee says.
Had the officers sought a search warrant, the judge would have peppered them with questions, Lombardi says: “He’s going to ask specific questions. He’s going to ask what did you see? … Did she stumble? Did she bumble? Was her speech slurred? What did you see? And if they can’t tell him that, he’s not going to give them a warrant, as much as he probably would like to.”
In Charlestown, the police chief says he’d like to see the new law amended.
“Would it be nice to have a law that says after a fatal you have to be tested? Absolutely,” Shippee says. “… That’s what we need.”
On the other hand, the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU thinks even the law that passed will be challenged in court one day.
“No police officer or health-care provider should have the power to forcibly restrain an individual in order to invade their body to try to convict them of a crime,” Executive Director Steven Brown says. “… The image is disturbing, and it’s why it shouldn’t be allowed, but it is precisely what this law authorizes.”
kbramson@projo.com
Police around the country have been taking such blood tests for decades, under various rules in different states. Back in 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a blood sample taken because a police officer believed a California motorist was drunk did not violate the driver’s constitutional rights.
Once blood tests are taken, the issue gets complicated, as there’s no national standard on what level of various drugs causes impairment. Under Rhode Island law, the presence of certain drugs is enough to convict one of driving under the influence, but the state’s traffic-safety resource prosecutor, Jay Sullivan in the Attorney General’s Office, says there needs to be some discretion when drugs in a driver’s blood have been prescribed and taken appropriately.
Across Rhode Island, police departments that believed they should test a driver’s blood for impairment after serious and fatal crashes sought search warrants to do so, and judges granted them, according to Journal archives dating to at least 1984.
But those search warrants ground to a halt in December 2000, after the state Supreme Court ruled that state law precluded the police from obtaining them. However, Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger urged the General Assembly to amend the law so blood samples could again be taken from unwilling drivers.
Thus began a philosophical and legislative debate that pitted supporters, such as the state police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, against opponents, including the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Office of the Public Defender.
Then-Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse quickly announced he was preparing legislation to allow testing. With equal swiftness, the incoming chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee –– Joseph A. Montalbano, a North Providence Democrat who later became Senate president –– urged caution, so as not to trample on Fourth Amendment rights, which protect residents from unreasonable search and seizure.
When the state elected a new attorney general in 2002, Patrick C. Lynch took up the cause and championed it.
In a state considered very liberal when it comes to –– as Lombardi says –– “invasive things like taking blood from people,” the battle in the General Assembly lasted nine straight years.
The bill that became law in November, nearly a decade after Weisberger urged such change, was carefully crafted, says Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. Of the 45 states that let the police obtain blood samples after someone is killed or seriously injured in a car crash, Healey says, Rhode Island is among 17 where they must first obtain a search warrant. To do so, they must have “probable cause.”
So what is probable cause?
“It’s a very fluid and elastic concept that changes from one situation to the next,” says Mark Neil, senior lawyer of the National Traffic Law Center, which helps prosecutors, judges and the police with traffic-safety cases. “From a legal standpoint: is it sufficient evidence to warrant a reasonable person to essentially believe and act on the information?”
In Rhode Island, the police do not have probable cause to seek a search warrant to draw blood just because someone has been involved in a fatal or serious-injury crash, says Jay Sullivan, who is not related to Richard Sullivan.
Do the police have probable cause to draw a driver’s blood when she says she mixed Methadone, a prescription drug, with marijuana?
Jay Sullivan says he cannot answer that specifically, because the question is tied too closely to the ongoing Charlestown case. But in general, he said, such an admission would tend to make a police officer “more alert to look for the signs and symptoms” of drug use.
“If they see someone isn’t able to talk or walk or find their license, they may be suspicious someone might be under the influence,” he said.
In the Charlestown crash involving Reale, Chief Shippee says his officers had no probable cause: “There were no outward signs of intoxication or being under the influence, which is a requirement for that.”
Reale’s admission of drug use that day wasn’t enough, Shippee says.
Had the officers sought a search warrant, the judge would have peppered them with questions, Lombardi says: “He’s going to ask specific questions. He’s going to ask what did you see? … Did she stumble? Did she bumble? Was her speech slurred? What did you see? And if they can’t tell him that, he’s not going to give them a warrant, as much as he probably would like to.”
In Charlestown, the police chief says he’d like to see the new law amended.
“Would it be nice to have a law that says after a fatal you have to be tested? Absolutely,” Shippee says. “… That’s what we need.”
On the other hand, the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU thinks even the law that passed will be challenged in court one day.
“No police officer or health-care provider should have the power to forcibly restrain an individual in order to invade their body to try to convict them of a crime,” Executive Director Steven Brown says. “… The image is disturbing, and it’s why it shouldn’t be allowed, but it is precisely what this law authorizes.”
kbramson@projo.com
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Controversy Over Prescription Drugs & Driving | WWNY TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports for Watertown, NY | Local News
I like the final words of the correspondent: "...get off the meds, or get off the road."
The Controversy Over Prescription Drugs & Driving | WWNY TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports for Watertown, NY | Local News
The Controversy Over Prescription Drugs & Driving | WWNY TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports for Watertown, NY | Local News
Watertown Daily Times | Two charges against bus driver dismissed
A great example from New York as to why Driving under the Influence of any drug should be prohibited.
Watertown Daily Times | Two charges against bus driver dismissed
Watertown Daily Times | Two charges against bus driver dismissed
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Morehead State University - News: News Release - Worley becomes first university certified drug recognition expert
Nice to see that the LAPD is still helping out DRE candidates!
Morehead State University - News: News Release - Worley becomes first university certified drug recognition expert
Morehead State University - News: News Release - Worley becomes first university certified drug recognition expert
Monday, August 9, 2010
1980s in Los Angeles
It was a terrifying time'
More than 100 women died during a 10-year period that serial killers roamed South L.A.
serial killers
LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera, assigned to the 77th Street Division in the mid-1980s, was once dispatched to five homicide scenes in one night. (Los Angeles Times, Gary Friedman / August 2, 2010)
146Share
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* Related
*
PHOTOS: California's most notorious killers Photos: California's most notorious killers
*
Map: Serial Killers in South L.A. Interactive map: Serial Killers in South L.A.
*
Pacific Time podcast: Perspective on a decade of peril in South L.A.
* Multimedia
*
Chart: Los Angeles serial killers Chart: Los Angeles serial killers
By Scott Gold and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times
August 4, 2010
null
More than 100 women died during a 10-year period that serial killers roamed South L.A.
serial killers
LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera, assigned to the 77th Street Division in the mid-1980s, was once dispatched to five homicide scenes in one night. (Los Angeles Times, Gary Friedman / August 2, 2010)
146Share
0diggsdigg
* Related
*
PHOTOS: California's most notorious killers Photos: California's most notorious killers
*
Map: Serial Killers in South L.A. Interactive map: Serial Killers in South L.A.
*
Pacific Time podcast: Perspective on a decade of peril in South L.A.
* Multimedia
*
Chart: Los Angeles serial killers Chart: Los Angeles serial killers
By Scott Gold and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times
August 4, 2010
null
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Canadian DRE program hampered by lack of resources
Canada: Catching Drug-impaired Drivers Hampered By Lack Of Resources
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/fky7n3u5
Pubdate: Tue, 03 Aug 2010
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2010 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/letters.html
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Douglas Quan
CATCHING DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS HAMPERED BY LACK OF RESOURCES
Two years after Ottawa passed a controversial law that gave police new powers to go after drugged-up drivers, opinion is divided over how much of a difference the law has made and whether those police powers can hold up in court.
Under the law, which came into effect in July 2008, an officer who suspects a driver may be impaired by drugs can demand that the driver perform a test of their physical co-ordination. If the driver fails that test, the officer can compel the driver to go to the police station for a lengthier evaluation by a drugrecognition expert.
At the end of that evaluation, the expert can order the driver to submit a blood, urine or saliva sample -- in much the same way police can compel someone suspected of being too boozy to drive to submit a breath sample. Refusal to comply can result in a $1,000 fine.
"It's simply levelled the playing field -- to hold them accountable as we do alcohol-impaired drivers," said Ian Brooks, an acting sergeant with the Edmonton police.
But while drug impaired-driving arrests last year rose to 1,394 from 441 the year before, they still accounted for only a sliver of the 88,630 total impaired-driving arrests, Statistics Canada data show.
Part of the problem, critics say, is that police agencies have been too slow to train officers to become drugrecognition experts. There are now just more than 600 nationwide, with wide variations among Canada's major police forces.
Police in Edmonton and Winnipeg each have 21 drug-recognition experts; Ottawa police have 16; Toronto police have 14; Vancouver police have 10; and Montreal police have two.
Some agencies admit they struggle to have even one expert available per shift. "It's a joke," said Toronto criminal lawyer Jonathan Rosenthal. "They come out with guns blazing -- 'we're coming out hard on crime' -- but if you don't put resources into the system, it's meaningless."
RCMP Sgt. Evan Graham, national co-ordinator of the drug-recognition expert program, acknowledged that the training of officers is a "little behind" where he'd hoped to be at this point, but he said he hopes to add another 200 to 300 experts per year over the next few years.
Training takes two weeks to complete, plus there's another week of field certification, he added.
"It's not overnight."
And while authorities say most drug-impaired driving arrests result in guilty pleas, the few cases that have gone to trial have, in at least a couple of instances, resulted in acquittals -- raising questions, defence lawyers say, about the reliability of the testing.
MAP posted-by: Matt
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/fky7n3u5
Pubdate: Tue, 03 Aug 2010
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2010 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/letters.html
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Douglas Quan
CATCHING DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS HAMPERED BY LACK OF RESOURCES
Two years after Ottawa passed a controversial law that gave police new powers to go after drugged-up drivers, opinion is divided over how much of a difference the law has made and whether those police powers can hold up in court.
Under the law, which came into effect in July 2008, an officer who suspects a driver may be impaired by drugs can demand that the driver perform a test of their physical co-ordination. If the driver fails that test, the officer can compel the driver to go to the police station for a lengthier evaluation by a drugrecognition expert.
At the end of that evaluation, the expert can order the driver to submit a blood, urine or saliva sample -- in much the same way police can compel someone suspected of being too boozy to drive to submit a breath sample. Refusal to comply can result in a $1,000 fine.
"It's simply levelled the playing field -- to hold them accountable as we do alcohol-impaired drivers," said Ian Brooks, an acting sergeant with the Edmonton police.
But while drug impaired-driving arrests last year rose to 1,394 from 441 the year before, they still accounted for only a sliver of the 88,630 total impaired-driving arrests, Statistics Canada data show.
Part of the problem, critics say, is that police agencies have been too slow to train officers to become drugrecognition experts. There are now just more than 600 nationwide, with wide variations among Canada's major police forces.
Police in Edmonton and Winnipeg each have 21 drug-recognition experts; Ottawa police have 16; Toronto police have 14; Vancouver police have 10; and Montreal police have two.
Some agencies admit they struggle to have even one expert available per shift. "It's a joke," said Toronto criminal lawyer Jonathan Rosenthal. "They come out with guns blazing -- 'we're coming out hard on crime' -- but if you don't put resources into the system, it's meaningless."
RCMP Sgt. Evan Graham, national co-ordinator of the drug-recognition expert program, acknowledged that the training of officers is a "little behind" where he'd hoped to be at this point, but he said he hopes to add another 200 to 300 experts per year over the next few years.
Training takes two weeks to complete, plus there's another week of field certification, he added.
"It's not overnight."
And while authorities say most drug-impaired driving arrests result in guilty pleas, the few cases that have gone to trial have, in at least a couple of instances, resulted in acquittals -- raising questions, defence lawyers say, about the reliability of the testing.
MAP posted-by: Matt
Saturday, August 7, 2010
What is salvia? | Savage Pacer
What is salvia? | Savage Pacer
Published on Savage Pacer (http://www.savagepacer.com)
What is salvia?
By shawn hogendorf
Created 08/06/2010 - 6:00am
By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent
The recent ban of salvia, an herbal supplement, has given residents of Savage peace of mind after they were nearly killed by a 50-year-old man who drove off the road and through three yards last month under the influence of the substance.
At about 4 p.m. on July 8, Marilyn and Richard Remer were washing a vehicle in the driveway of their home in the 5000 block of West 139th Street when their neighbor Shirley Hildebrandt came over to chat. Shirley had her back to the road as she was talking to Richard when she saw a look on his face she’d never seen before.
Just then, Marilyn grabbed Shirley and they jumped out of the way of a wayward vehicle that drove off the road and through a neighbor’s yard before “whizzing about a foot” past Shirley who was standing in the middle of the Remers’ driveway. The car continued between two trees over a boulder and into a third yard prior to crashing head-on into a tree.
Shirley stood in awe as she watched the crash unfold.
“If I had been over just a little bit, he would have wiped me out,” she said. “It was shocking to realize how close I was to death’s door.”
The next drug
To keep up with a fast-growing industry that is constantly creating legal herbal supplements and synthetic drugs that mimic the highs of marijuana and psychedelic drugs, police and lawmakers are trying to stay ahead of the newest trends in the name of public safety.
On Aug. 1, Minnesota became the 20th state to ban salvia divinorum, a powerful herb that is smoked like marijuana and produces altered states of reality and “trips” described as “euphoric” by some and “scary” by others.
Now, possession of salvia is a misdemeanor and selling it is a gross misdemeanor. At the time of the July 8 crash in Hildebrandt’s and Remer’s neighborhood, the man was in possession of 1 gram of salvia.
But because salvia is out of a person’s system in about five minutes, when a Minnesota State Patrol drug recognition expert arrived on the scene there were no signs of impairment, said Detective Mike Heski, the Savage Police Department’s representative on the Dakota County Drug Task Force.
“He endangered people’s lives, but only ended up with a citation,” because the substance is out of a person’s system so quickly, Heski said.
People under the influence of salvia lose their motor functions, don’t understand where they are or what is going on and should not be behind the wheel of a vehicle, he explained.
“This is new for police,” Heski said. “But now that it is illegal, we may have more dealings with it.”
Now that salvia is illegal in Minnesota, local law enforcement officials expect synthetic marijuana will take its place as the new illicit drug of choice for teens and young adults.
According to a law enforcement alert, K2, Spice and other synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the effects of marijuana are showing up in south metro high schools.
The pseudo marijuana comes in a small package of herbal blends that looks like potpourri. It is sprayed with one or more versions of synthetic cannabinoids that act like THC – the active substance in marijuana that binds to receptors in the brain to create a high.
The effects of the illicit drug are similar to marijuana, but also include panic attacks, convulsions, delusions, vomiting, heart palpitations, agitation and dilated pupils. K2 is smoked or ingested to obtain the high.
There are many names for K2: Summit, K24, Citro, Krypton, Swerve, Spike 99, Herbal Kush, Black Magic, Mojo, Cloud 9, Cosmic, Maya Blue, Night Watch, Starry Night, Spicey and Mango.
The manufacturers and retailers of K2 are labeling the packages as “Not for human consumption,” according to the police alert. K2 is sold online for about $25 a gram, but it is also showing up in tobacco stores where it is being sold as incense or potpourri. Retailers are requiring that buyers are 18 years old to purchase it.
The plants used to create the “legal weed” are bay bean, blue lotus, pink lotus and lion’s tail, which were used by ancient cultures as a sedative or for euphoric effects.
In addition to the natural herbal contents, K2 and its similar products also contain synthetic chemical compounds that are potentially hazardous.
There is no accepted urine or field drug testing kit available to detect the chemicals in K2, but lab testing can detect some of the synthetic chemicals in the products, which are controlled substances, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). One of those synthetic chemicals, HU-210, is structurally similar to THC, but reportedly 100 times more potent.
K2 is currently illegal in three states and most of Europe.
Advertisement. Article continues below.
Josh Turner
Police in Savage and Prior Lake said they have not come across any K2 or Spice, yet.
But, with the increasing prevalence of these illicit drugs, parents should become familiar with what their children are doing, as well as what the packaging and substances look like, Heski said. Parents should talk to their children and explain the long-term health risks involved in smoking anything – as well as the criminal consequences of salvia.
Scary experience
As the trio of neighbors in Savage recalled what happened to them, Marilyn said her first thought was that the driver was seriously injured – or possibly dead.
She ran to the house to call 911 and another neighbor approached the man’s vehicle only to find the “guy’s foot was on the gas -- he was still trying to drive,” Marilyn said.
A third neighbor rushed to the vehicle and when he realized the man was OK, he grabbed the man’s keys from the vehicle and his wallet off of the front seat in case he tried to flee, Marilyn said. At that time the man got out of his vehicle and started walking down the street tugging at his shirt and yelling obscenities.
“The man was asking where his kid was, where he was and what just happened,” Shirley said. “I couldn’t believe the way he was acting.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life,” she continued. “It was unreal.”
“It freaked us out,” Marilyn said. “He went through three yards and never hit the brakes. He had absolutely no reaction to hit his brakes he was so out of it.
“He could have killed one of us while we were standing in our driveway,” she continued. “He missed us by a foot. The crazy thing was -- it was legal at the time.”
When police arrived, the man was handcuffed and later cited for reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Enforcement
With salvia sales now banned, synthetic marijuana has gotten the attention of Prior Lake City Council members, who talked about ways to address the drug’s sale and use at their Monday (Aug. 2) meeting.
Councilman Warren Erickson said he heard about the drug at a recent meeting of the League of Minnesota Cities, which plans to draft a resolution on behalf of cities interested in prohibiting the sale of synthetic marijuana.
“As far as I know it’s not a problem here in Prior Lake, but I thought we should take a look at it in advance, before it is a problem,” Erickson said. “From what I understand, the state will eventually address it, but it’s a loophole we can close before the state can.”
The council has asked city staff to look at a possible local ordinance banning the sale of synthetic marijuana and to work with the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE), a multi-jurisdictional group, to see how such an ordinance could be implemented.
Councilman Richard Keeney suggested the city should keep in mind that there will always be some type of new drug to potentially regulate unless a broader ordinance is considered.
“There’s all manner of substances you can use to intoxicate yourself, from sniffing glue to huffing paint,” Keeney said. “We’re always going to be chasing the next thing.”
Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at shogendorf@swpub.com.
Published on Savage Pacer (http://www.savagepacer.com)
What is salvia?
By shawn hogendorf
Created 08/06/2010 - 6:00am
By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent
The recent ban of salvia, an herbal supplement, has given residents of Savage peace of mind after they were nearly killed by a 50-year-old man who drove off the road and through three yards last month under the influence of the substance.
At about 4 p.m. on July 8, Marilyn and Richard Remer were washing a vehicle in the driveway of their home in the 5000 block of West 139th Street when their neighbor Shirley Hildebrandt came over to chat. Shirley had her back to the road as she was talking to Richard when she saw a look on his face she’d never seen before.
Just then, Marilyn grabbed Shirley and they jumped out of the way of a wayward vehicle that drove off the road and through a neighbor’s yard before “whizzing about a foot” past Shirley who was standing in the middle of the Remers’ driveway. The car continued between two trees over a boulder and into a third yard prior to crashing head-on into a tree.
Shirley stood in awe as she watched the crash unfold.
“If I had been over just a little bit, he would have wiped me out,” she said. “It was shocking to realize how close I was to death’s door.”
The next drug
To keep up with a fast-growing industry that is constantly creating legal herbal supplements and synthetic drugs that mimic the highs of marijuana and psychedelic drugs, police and lawmakers are trying to stay ahead of the newest trends in the name of public safety.
On Aug. 1, Minnesota became the 20th state to ban salvia divinorum, a powerful herb that is smoked like marijuana and produces altered states of reality and “trips” described as “euphoric” by some and “scary” by others.
Now, possession of salvia is a misdemeanor and selling it is a gross misdemeanor. At the time of the July 8 crash in Hildebrandt’s and Remer’s neighborhood, the man was in possession of 1 gram of salvia.
But because salvia is out of a person’s system in about five minutes, when a Minnesota State Patrol drug recognition expert arrived on the scene there were no signs of impairment, said Detective Mike Heski, the Savage Police Department’s representative on the Dakota County Drug Task Force.
“He endangered people’s lives, but only ended up with a citation,” because the substance is out of a person’s system so quickly, Heski said.
People under the influence of salvia lose their motor functions, don’t understand where they are or what is going on and should not be behind the wheel of a vehicle, he explained.
“This is new for police,” Heski said. “But now that it is illegal, we may have more dealings with it.”
Now that salvia is illegal in Minnesota, local law enforcement officials expect synthetic marijuana will take its place as the new illicit drug of choice for teens and young adults.
According to a law enforcement alert, K2, Spice and other synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the effects of marijuana are showing up in south metro high schools.
The pseudo marijuana comes in a small package of herbal blends that looks like potpourri. It is sprayed with one or more versions of synthetic cannabinoids that act like THC – the active substance in marijuana that binds to receptors in the brain to create a high.
The effects of the illicit drug are similar to marijuana, but also include panic attacks, convulsions, delusions, vomiting, heart palpitations, agitation and dilated pupils. K2 is smoked or ingested to obtain the high.
There are many names for K2: Summit, K24, Citro, Krypton, Swerve, Spike 99, Herbal Kush, Black Magic, Mojo, Cloud 9, Cosmic, Maya Blue, Night Watch, Starry Night, Spicey and Mango.
The manufacturers and retailers of K2 are labeling the packages as “Not for human consumption,” according to the police alert. K2 is sold online for about $25 a gram, but it is also showing up in tobacco stores where it is being sold as incense or potpourri. Retailers are requiring that buyers are 18 years old to purchase it.
The plants used to create the “legal weed” are bay bean, blue lotus, pink lotus and lion’s tail, which were used by ancient cultures as a sedative or for euphoric effects.
In addition to the natural herbal contents, K2 and its similar products also contain synthetic chemical compounds that are potentially hazardous.
There is no accepted urine or field drug testing kit available to detect the chemicals in K2, but lab testing can detect some of the synthetic chemicals in the products, which are controlled substances, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). One of those synthetic chemicals, HU-210, is structurally similar to THC, but reportedly 100 times more potent.
K2 is currently illegal in three states and most of Europe.
Advertisement. Article continues below.
Josh Turner
Police in Savage and Prior Lake said they have not come across any K2 or Spice, yet.
But, with the increasing prevalence of these illicit drugs, parents should become familiar with what their children are doing, as well as what the packaging and substances look like, Heski said. Parents should talk to their children and explain the long-term health risks involved in smoking anything – as well as the criminal consequences of salvia.
Scary experience
As the trio of neighbors in Savage recalled what happened to them, Marilyn said her first thought was that the driver was seriously injured – or possibly dead.
She ran to the house to call 911 and another neighbor approached the man’s vehicle only to find the “guy’s foot was on the gas -- he was still trying to drive,” Marilyn said.
A third neighbor rushed to the vehicle and when he realized the man was OK, he grabbed the man’s keys from the vehicle and his wallet off of the front seat in case he tried to flee, Marilyn said. At that time the man got out of his vehicle and started walking down the street tugging at his shirt and yelling obscenities.
“The man was asking where his kid was, where he was and what just happened,” Shirley said. “I couldn’t believe the way he was acting.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life,” she continued. “It was unreal.”
“It freaked us out,” Marilyn said. “He went through three yards and never hit the brakes. He had absolutely no reaction to hit his brakes he was so out of it.
“He could have killed one of us while we were standing in our driveway,” she continued. “He missed us by a foot. The crazy thing was -- it was legal at the time.”
When police arrived, the man was handcuffed and later cited for reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Enforcement
With salvia sales now banned, synthetic marijuana has gotten the attention of Prior Lake City Council members, who talked about ways to address the drug’s sale and use at their Monday (Aug. 2) meeting.
Councilman Warren Erickson said he heard about the drug at a recent meeting of the League of Minnesota Cities, which plans to draft a resolution on behalf of cities interested in prohibiting the sale of synthetic marijuana.
“As far as I know it’s not a problem here in Prior Lake, but I thought we should take a look at it in advance, before it is a problem,” Erickson said. “From what I understand, the state will eventually address it, but it’s a loophole we can close before the state can.”
The council has asked city staff to look at a possible local ordinance banning the sale of synthetic marijuana and to work with the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE), a multi-jurisdictional group, to see how such an ordinance could be implemented.
Councilman Richard Keeney suggested the city should keep in mind that there will always be some type of new drug to potentially regulate unless a broader ordinance is considered.
“There’s all manner of substances you can use to intoxicate yourself, from sniffing glue to huffing paint,” Keeney said. “We’re always going to be chasing the next thing.”
Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at shogendorf@swpub.com.
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