Officials recommend targeting retailers of synthetic drugs

EVANSVILLE Taking a more aggressive approach against retailers selling synthetic drugs might be the best way for the state to tackle the growing problems posed by the dangerous drugs, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Tuesday.

Zoeller and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan convened a summit of law enforcement officials, prosecutors and legislators from both states in Evansville to exchange ideas about combating what they said is the rising threat from small-batch methamphetamine making and the use of synthetic drugs.

A growing number of teenagers and young adults are using synthetic drugs, which are substances laced with chemicals designed to mimic the effects of marijuana, cocaine and meth but which often have serious health effects. Buyers don't know what chemicals and amounts of them are in the products.

Because they were for sale out on the countertop, kids thought they were safe. These are nothing to mess around with, Madigan said. They are horribly dangerous. They account for numerous suicides and deaths across the country.

The drugs are packaged with catchy names and in ways that allude to them being smoked and inhaled even though the packages typically say they aren't intended for human consumption. They are often sold at convenience stores and gas stations. Popular names include K2 and Spice for some of the lab-manufactured THC (the intoxicating chemical in marijuana), while another class of them known as cathinones or bath salts contain chemicals designed to mimic cocaine or meth.

Indiana and Illinois, like other states, initially responded to the rise of synthetic drugs with laws that banned specific formulas of them. Zoeller said that has proved difficult because manufacturers are constantly altering the chemical formulas.

Also, he said it requires lab tests to determine if the substance is one that is banned before producers and users of it can be prosecuted.

Zoeller supported legislation this year that added more than 60 substances to the list of banned synthetic drugs.

We are not going to keep up with the chemical altering. We are going to have to be very aggressive with the retailers, Zoeller said.

Madigan said she worked with local law enforcement agencies in 24 counties to persuade retailers to remove the drugs from their shelves. She also proposed legislation that would make it a felony to distribute synthetic drugs. The bill has not yet been signed into law by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

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Officials recommend targeting retailers of synthetic drugs