Mike Mendenhall, Newton Daily News, Iowa –
When undercover agents for the M.I.N.E. Task Force raided both the Petro Stop at 404 S. 11th Ave. W. in Newton and the Kellogg Country Store in November of last year, authorities seized 2,700 grams and 130 grams from the businesses, respectively, of synthetic cannabinoids. More commonly known as K2 Spice, bath salts and marketed as incense, Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer said that synthetic marijuana remains a problem in Jasper County and Iowa despite recently passed state legislation and tougher enforcement.
“Although they’ve outlawed K2, (manufacturers) merely take their stuff and change their chemical compound just a little bit to get around the law,” he said. “The legislature is trying to address getting ahead of the curve.”
Balmer said that after new state laws banning the most common makeup of the synthetic hallucinogen took effect in July 2011, it took very little time for manufacturers to tweak their recipes. The sheriff explained that K2 makers will take incense, spray on a variety of chemicals and dry it out, providing no compound consistency for law enforcement to pursue. Once a potential seller is identified and the synthetic is seized, it takes time for the Iowa DCI Crime Lab to determine if the drug is the outlawed form or contains a slight chemical variation that is not specified by current law. Balmer said this is what makes synthetics so hard to prosecute.
“There has got to be some way to discourage businesses from selling the product, but it is a quick and easy profit for them,” Balmer said. “Hopefully we can get to a point where businesses can help out law enforcement because it (synthetic marijuana) can have fatal consequences.”
Iowa state representative Dan Kelley, D-Newton, has been a supporter of stronger legislation banning the newer versions of synthetics hitting the Iowa market. But where the House member feels the real problem lies is in drug treatment, prevention and how the products are marketed.
“Part of the issue is the way they are often packaged,” Kelley said. “Iowa needs to be very clear with retailers so there is no confusion. We need to do a better job informing retailers.”
The products are marketed in colorful, graphic heavy packaging with brand names such as “Caution,” “Diablo” and “100% Pure Evil” meant to give the smoker a sense of controlled excitement. But the products fail to indicate the potentially harmful side effects due to individual user reaction or overdose. The Des Moines Police Department reported on Feb. 17 that three East High School students were transported to Mercy Hospital when they became ill after smoking K2. The students told authorities they obtained the substance from a nearby liquor store.
The products are easily accessable online as well and are inexpensive. Online retailers sell K2 with prices raning anywhere from $5.50 to $8 an ounce. Balmer said that because of varying state laws throughout the U.S., federal regulations would have to be too broad-based and would not have a strong enough effect on the market.
In the state’s cases against Newton Petro Stop owner Jaswant Singh and the Kellogg County Store operator Jarnail Manhani, the undercover officers reported asking to purchase K2. The store clerks obtained the items behind the counter, which were out of view and not openly displayed like other merchandise in the store. At the Petro Stop location, investigators noted that Singh did not enter the product amount into the cash register as he did with other product sales. The officers said in court documents that “these actions suspect knowledge of the synthetic marijuana being illegal.”
Both the 46-year-old Singh and the 58-year-old Manhani are facing four counts of conspiracy to manufacture, deliver and/or possess synthetic marijuana. The men entered not guilty pleas in February and have pretrial conferences in Jasper County District Court scheduled at 1:30 p.m. May 16.
Kelley said that he could not comment on any specific instances of K2 prosecution, but he indicated he’s been in close communication with Jasper County and statewide law enforcement, as well as educators and police officers in Iowa’s DARE program to help understand what resources are needed for prevention efforts. He believes the key is to eliminate the demand for the drug with education and treatment.
Currently, there is a proposal before the Iowa House’s Administrations and Regulations Budget Subcommittee attempting to lessen funding for the state Office of Drug Control Policy. Kelley is the ranking Democratic member of that committee, and he said he opposes the proposal. But Kelley indicated that it is attached to the larger state budget, which is required to be passed before the legislator adjourns this session.
Although there is a potential for prevention funding to take a hit, Kelley said there is bipartisan support surrounding an amendment currently under debate in the Senate “to play catch up” with the new compound variations of K2. Senate file 2123 has already passed the House and is a bill amending Iowa’s controlled substance schedule codes. The amendment would address all of the known variations of chemicals used in K2 currently, but with the session in overtime, Kelley said he cannot predict if the bill will make it to the governor’s desk before the legislature adjourns.
“I can’t predict the future, but I would assume we’ll be addressing this in future legislation,” Kelley said.
