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motaman
old hand

Registered: 12/18/02
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Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers
#22066116 - 08/09/15 08:27 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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http://newsok.com/spice-k2-makers-continue-game-of-smoke-and-mirrors-with-oklahoma-lawmakers/article/5439073
Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers With each move by the Oklahoma Legislature, the makers of fake marijuana substances change their formulas to stay ahead of the law. Meanwhile, one Del City man's parents are suing over his death after smoking spice.
by Jennifer Palmer Published: August 9, 2015
A month after his 23rd birthday, Dylan Ordaz purchased a package of “Get Real” from a local smoke shop. Recovering from a car accident and searching for a legal alternative to marijuana, Ordaz chose to use synthetic cannabinoids, and the state medical examiner says it killed him.
Called spice, K2, synthetic marijuana, or by one of many “brand” names like Scooby Snax and Lights Out, the use of synthetic drugs has led to a skyrocketing number of calls to poison control centers and emergency room visits, records show. Peddlers of the products have been mostly successful in staying a step ahead of the law while reaping significant profits. Its victims are mostly young adults and teens, many of whom believe the products are a safe alternative to illegal drugs.
“We are really dealing with a public health emergency,” said Sanford Coats, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, which has prosecuted sellers of synthetic marijuana.
State’s first?
Poison control centers across the U.S. received 3,572 calls reporting adverse health effects from synthetic marijuana use from January to May — a 229 percent increase compared to the same period in 2014, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Fifteen deaths were reported in that time.
Ordaz’s Jan. 20 death is possibly Oklahoma’s first directly linked to synthetic marijuana. A state medical examiner’s office autopsy report lists his cause of death as “synthetic cannabinoid toxicity” from the chemical AB-PINACA. His death is classified as an accident.
Ordaz was a computer technician and graduate of Union City High School, according to an obituary. His parents, Victor and Tricia Ordaz, of Del City, are suing Ziggyz, the store where they say their son purchased the synthetic drugs.
When buying the product, Ordaz was told that it was “effective for alleviating pain, safe, and legal at any level of usage,” his parents allege in the lawsuit. They have asked a judge to find Ziggyz and its owners liable for the products, which they say were negligently designed, manufactured, marketed and “unreasonably dangerous beyond the contemplation of the average user.”
Through their attorney, Victor and Tricia Ordaz declined to be interviewed. Ziggyz has not filed a response to the lawsuit, which was filed May 29 in Oklahoma County District Court. The Oklahoman’s attempts by phone and in person to reach Xiang Yu “Johnny” Ren, who owned Ziggyz at the time of Ordaz’s death, were unsuccessful.
Printed on the back of the package of “Get Real” are common disclaimers stating the product is “not for human consumption” and “for aromatherapy use only.”
It also warns that the product “may be harmful if ingested.”
Package disclaimers
Package disclaimers are one tactic manufacturers and sellers of synthetic drugs use to avoid prosecution, says Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.
“They’ll say ‘I sell potpourri or incense and what the kids do with it is their problem.’ In other words, the stores wash their hands of any consequences that happen to a teenager, whether they end up in a hospital or end up dead because of their product,” he said.
Coats said the names and packaging are designed to appeal to young people. Get Real, for instance, resembles the theme of the popular TV show “Breaking Bad.”
“To call it synthetic marijuana is a bit of a misnomer because it’s not an organic substance … people don’t know what they’re smoking, or the strength of it,” Coats said.
Being sold in convenience stores and other retailers gives the public a false sense of legitimacy that is difficult to overcome, he added. The substances also typically don’t show up on a drug test, making their use attractive to some.
Spice is made by spraying liquid chemicals onto dried plant material. The chemicals are developed to mimic the effects of marijuana, and are often imported from China.
Abuse widespread
U.S. hospitals first began seeing patients with ill effects from synthetic marijuana use around 2008. By 2010, abuse of the drug was widespread. Symptoms include kidney failure, hallucinations, labored breathing, increased heart rate and sometimes death.
Though the state medical examiner’s office couldn’t provide statistics, sources say a death being directly linked to synthetic marijuana like in Ordaz’s case is rare.
Another is 50-year-old David King, who was found dead Sept. 3, 2013, in Tulsa. Though his cause of death was listed as heart disease, the coroner noted King had a history of chronic K2 abuse, which likely contributed.
Oklahoma lawmakers in 2010 outlawed the main ingredients in K2, but manufacturers quickly replaced those with alternative chemicals. In 2011, the Legislature banned an additional 200 chemicals. Synthetic drug makers again responded by switching to other chemicals.
The state Legislature in 2014 expanded the ban and created broader categories of banned cannibinoids.
But even that ban doesn’t cover all the chemicals being used in synthetic drugs, Woodward said.
“It’s not as cut and dry as saying, ‘they’re selling K2, go and arrest them,’ ” he said. “The public doesn’t often understand that yes, we’ve outlawed the chemicals but chances are pretty good they are selling a legal one.”
Operators face charges
Three head shop operators face charges in connection with raids on two Mr. Coolz stores and a Coolz II store in March. John W. Roddy, 65, William J. Martin, 62, and Montessa Chamberlin, 42, are charged in Oklahoma County District Court with distributing a synthetic controlled dangerous substance, racketeering and money laundering. State and federal agents confiscated thousands of packages of illegal synthetic marijuana and more than a million dollars in cash.
Owners of the now-closed Norman shop Ancient Aromatherapy, Dennis and Christie England, face charges related to a raid in 2013.
They were originally charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance within 2,000 feet of a park, but the case was dismissed after the crime lab couldn’t confirm the presence of a banned substance.
However, prosecutors in July 2014 filed a charge of distribution of a synthetic controlled dangerous substance against the Englands, and those charges are pending.
A Woodward couple is serving time in prison for crimes that occurred at their store, Sugar Lips. Tracy Daniels was sentenced to 28 months and her husband, Adam, was sentenced to 16 months earlier this year.
Prosecutors accused the couple in 2013 of selling synthetic marijuana, but they pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of selling drug paraphernalia.
Very little has been made public about the April 22 raid at the chain of Ziggyz stores in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Drug Enforcement Agents seized six tractor-trailer loads of products, including glass pipes, water pipes and rolling papers, according to court records. After the raid, owner Johnny Ren sold the business, and the new owner is suing the DEA in federal court.
Ren has not been charged with a crime. Search warrants for the Ziggyz stores are sealed and have not been made public.
However, Woodward, whose agency was involved in the raids, confirmed Ziggyz was under investigation for selling synthetic drugs.
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Govam
Stranger
Registered: 05/23/15
Posts: 94
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: motaman]
#22066710 - 08/09/15 11:17 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I remember I was 16 driving around with my friend smoking Blueberry K2 having a drooling blast. We started talking about the ethics of K2 and spice manufacturers. The picture/synthetic marijuana induced hallucination we concocted up involved an abandoned factory filled with lines of vats. A guy in shades with coke pores walks up and down the aisle tossing unmeasured handfuls into each vat, occasionally skipping and repeating stops. Once he's out, he goes to a supply closet full of their 'product', which also doubles as the pest control resources room, as well as the janitors closet. He restocks, also randomly, then gets back to it.
Pretty accurate imo
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides


Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: motaman] 1
#22066884 - 08/09/15 11:55 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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The answer to why people fool around that stuff in the first place is right under their noses. Make the real stuff legal and the evil synthetics will go the way of the dinosaurs.
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Detached
You know where...


Registered: 02/27/15
Posts: 2,942
Last seen: 10 months, 13 days
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: Le_Canard]
#22068884 - 08/09/15 07:02 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Le_Canard said: The answer to why people fool around that stuff in the first place is right under their noses. Make the real stuff legal and the evil synthetics will go the way of the dinosaurs.
I would have to concur.
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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: Detached]
#22069250 - 08/09/15 08:12 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I concur as well good sirs, I wonder how the lawsuit will play out
-------------------- Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
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Fractal420
Psycellium



Registered: 06/21/13
Posts: 5,913
Last seen: 8 months, 14 days
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: musiclover420]
#22070671 - 08/10/15 07:01 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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They are not evil by design, and im sure many have very legit medical uses, but have no research. Some are orally active and might be effective against the same things cannabis is
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Dr.Satan
Mad Professor



Registered: 06/26/15
Posts: 2,182
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: Fractal420]
#22076123 - 08/11/15 12:08 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fractal420 said: They are not evil by design, and im sure many have very legit medical uses, but have no research. Some are orally active and might be effective against the same things cannabis is
Have you ever smoked that stuff? It's fucking horrid man. Even on a fucking micro swat you could get so high that you feel like your brain is frying. It's so far from pleasant ime that I would say if anyone finds any of them to have positive effects it's probably like 1 in a million. I've had many friends who smoked multiple different kinds of that shit and they all hated the experience as much as me if not more. And none of us gathered this hate of those substances from one time use. We gave it a fair chance and most certainly regretted doing so.
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SoulButter
Joint Chief of Soul


Registered: 06/23/15
Posts: 312
Last seen: 3 years, 1 day
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: Dr.Satan]
#22076147 - 08/11/15 12:20 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I smoked a decent amount of different blends when it was really big. I dont recall any bad experiences with any, they just got me extremely high. Definitely not as pleasant as good ole thc and cbd's, but it was interesting to try out.
The absurdity of marijuana still being illegal while people are overdosing on synthetic analogs and research chemicals is frustration inducing to say the least.
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Fractal420
Psycellium



Registered: 06/21/13
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Last seen: 8 months, 14 days
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Re: Spice, K2 makers continue game of smoke and mirrors with Oklahoma lawmakers [Re: SoulButter]
#22080390 - 08/12/15 08:33 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I have smoked blends...on top of K too lol (not K2, referring to disocciative lol). was super weird and the packet had like 7 cannabinoids, i also had JWH-70-something... (JWH-74? Honestly i forget, but was a full agonist) and was in pure crystal form. The point is, yes, using them for recreation without even knowing which is one thing. I mean if for example someone researched HU-xxx and then made appropriate doses. Its like when BHO first hit the streets people were getting knocked out and it was on the news as sort of "weed crack". The chemicals themselves may have plenty of medical potential, especially if the person doesnt care about a nice weed buzz...and like i said if active orally they can just take a capsule and it might cure cancer. Witnout research, who knows?
Ps the blend i tried back in like 2011 was called "Sweet Lucy". Had a logo much like the show I Love Lucy
Edited by Fractal420 (08/12/15 08:36 AM)
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