COLUMBIA, Mo. — Authorities in 13 states thought they were acting to curb a public health threat when they outlawed a form of synthetic marijuana known as K2, a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with chemicals.
But before the laws took effect, many stores that did a brisk business in fake pot had already gotten around the bans by making slight changes to K2’s chemical formula, creating knockoffs with names such as “K3,” “Heaven Scent” and “Syn.”
“It’s kind of pointless,” University of Missouri sophomore Brittany May said after purchasing a K2 alternative called “BoCoMo Dew” at a Columbia smoke shop. “They’re just going to come up with another thing.”
Barely six months after Kansas adopted the nation’s first ban on K2, even police acknowledge that the laws are all but meaningless because merchants can so easily offer legal alternatives.
Until a year ago, products such as K2 were virtually unknown in the United States. Clemson University chemistry professor John Huffman developed the compounds in 1995 while researching the effect of cannabinoids, the active compounds found in marijuana.
Huffman had little reason to believe his lab work would morph into a commercial product. He calls users of K2 and its chemical cousins “idiots,” noting the lack of research into the substance’s effects, which include reports of rapid heartbeats and high blood pressure. It’s often labeled as incense with warnings against human consumption.
