Mom: ‘I Didn’t Know What Synthetic Marijuana Was Until My Son Died’

From Woodridge Patch: Karen Dobner said her son, Max, never gave her cause to worry. He never spoke ill of anyone. He never lost his temper. He was never disrespectful or rude. He was a health nut and refused to eat at Burger King or McDonald’s.

She has no answer for what led Max to use synthetic marijuana on June 14, 2011, but she believes it was because he thought it was healthier than marijuana. 

Dobner spoke out against that false assumption at a topic forum Tuesday night. 

After taking synthetic marijuana – or poison sprayed on leaves, as she calls it – Max called his brother to say his heart was racing and he was "freaking out." Later Karen received a call that her son, driving at almost 100 mph, had plowed thrown an intersection, hit a wall, went airborne and crashed through the front of a home. He died in the accident at the age of 19.

Synthetic drugs, such as synthetic marijuana or synthetic cocaine, were, until recently, sold at gas stations, convenience stores and tobacco shops in DuPage County. Max Dobner purchased synthetic marijuana with a friend at a tobacco shop at Fox Valley Mall.

Dobner had never heard of synthetic marijuana until that day, and that was the problem, she said.  

“Potpourri,” “bath salts” and “incense”

Synthetic drugs claim to be what they are not. Synthetic marijuana is packaged as potpourri and incense. Synthetic cocaine is packaged as bath salts.

The product’s packaging will warn that the product is not for human consumption. Claiming the product has a practical use is the manufacturer’s cover, Dobner said.

But a gram of synthetic marijuana sold for $10 to $17 isn't incense -- it's a drug, said Officer Mike Wolfe. And it’s dangerous. 

While manufactured to mimic the symptoms of their counterparts, synthetic drugs can cause dangerous, severe reactions due to the chemicals used in their production.

Synthetic marijuana, for example, can have 100 to 500 times the potency of marijuana and contain 400 different chemicals, Dobner said It is produced by spraying a chemical cocktail mixed with acetone on some sort of plant material. The chemicals used in production and their potency vary from batch to batch. 

Synthetic marijuana can cause rapid heart rate, seizures, temporary paralysis, hallucinations, paranoia, vomiting, an inability to feel pain and panic attacks. When used repeatedly, some users have reported suicidal and homicidal thoughts, Dobner said. Some have experienced organ failure.

Synthetic cocaine can cause agitation, the inability to think clearly, irritability, dizziness, depression, rapid heart rate, nose bleeds, sweating, nausea, vomiting, seizures, suicidal thoughts, paranoia and immobility. 

In one instance, a man using synthetic cocaine stabbed himself in the face and stomach repeatedly, Wolfe said. In another, a man tore apart a police squad car with his teeth.

Because the chemical makeup and potency can vary so much from one package to another, using synthetic marijuana is like Russian Roulette, Dobner said. A package may be less potent or incredibly potent. 

“You have no idea what you’re going to get," she said. 

A growing trend

Calls to the National Poison Control Center regarding synthetic drugs have increased drastically in the past two years, according to Wolfe. 

There were 2,947 calls reporting exposure to synthetic marijuana in 2010. That grew to 7,000 calls in 2011. Calls reporting exposure to synthetic cocaine grew from 303 in 2010 to 6,000 in 2012.

Woodridge police first came across synthetic drugs in the village in 2010. One shop owner was arrested in 2011 and later closed his business after it was found he was selling the product.

The  officially . 

Stores sold synthetic drugs because they are profitable. While a shop will profit $.54 for a pack of cigarettes, a shop can profit $7 to $13 from a tiny package of synthetic drugs. The high profit potential makes shop owners take the risk, Wolfe said.

Synthetic drugs caught on with users for several reasons, Dobner said. There’s a misconception that a synthetic is safer than real marijuana or cocaine. There’s also the accepted notion that synthetic drugs don’t show up on drug tests (the ever-changing chemical cocktails make them tricky to detect).

Young adults don't talk about synthetic drugs to adults because they have a code of silence, Dobner said. Kids sometimes don’t report seizures or other medical conditions caused by synthetic drugs out of fear. 

A moving target

Synthetic drugs are hard to regulate because the chemicals used to make them can be changed. If one chemical is banned by the state or nationally, manufacturers just find another to use.

With hundreds of chemicals and names, the product can keep working around regulations into the hands of its users.

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives will put all formulations of synthetic drugs under the regulation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, Wolfe said. 

New threats 

A new drug of concern for the Drug Enforcement Administration is Kratom, made of a leafy tree native to southeast Asia. It’s a stimulant that mimics the effects of heroin. It is marketed as “incense.” The fresh leaves can be chewed or used in tea. Dried plant material can be smoked. Kratom provides an opium-like effect.

Another drug of concern is Pump-It, a powder that mimics the effects of cocoaine or methamphetamine. It is marketed as a bath salt but is ingested by snorting, injecting or smoking.

What you can do

If a parent find synthetic drugs, they can call Woodridge police, who will send a tactical officer to talk with the family, Wolfe said. The family can also meet with police at the Woodridge Police Department.

A spokeswoman from Cornell Interventions of Woodridge said the facility offers treatment for those suffering from the effects of synthetic drugs. Anyone with a question about synthetic drugs can give the facility a call, she said. 

Bans on the substances are reducing their use, Dobner said. The Interventions spokeswoman said she noticed a peak of usage amongst patients in 2009 and 2010. Numbers have dropped since then. 

Max’s death prompted Karen Dobner to start the “To the Maximus Foundation.” Since then, she has provided information and advocacy against synthetic drugs to people across the country.

More information and opportunities for advocacy can be found on the “To the Maximus Foundation” website.