It burns like marijuana, works like marijuana and it sort of looks like it, too.
And it's perfectly legal.
It's called K2, and area police confirm that the little bags of dried herbs are starting to pop up among teens and young adults.
Although it may be new on the local drug scene, K2 and similar brands have the attention of a Kansas lawmaker who said she would consider outlawing the substance. That's because the health risks of smoking one of these dubious doobies is unknown. Some European countries already have moved to ban it.
"It is new on the scene here," said Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Erickson. "It's just been a few weeks since we found out it was being sold locally."
Available for sale online and at a store in Lawrence, K2 comes in a small pouch. Inside is a mix of dried herbs that look like oregano but are laced with chemicals designed to mimic the effects of marijuana. Other brands go by the names Spice, Genie and Zohai.
Because the active ingredients are just a few atoms away from the real thing, the synthetic stuff isn't covered by laws banning marijuana. This means K2 and similar products are legal — even though the effects are identical to pot.
To read the complete article, visit www.kansascity.com.
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