A recent death of a teenager in Dallas has brought to light a legal drug called K-2. Up until Wednesday, K2 was legally sold in the city of Dallas. As of Wednesday it has now been banned for sale, possession and use in Dallas.
What is K2?
It is natural incense with herbs and spices that also contains the synthetic cannabis JWH-018. When smoked, it can cause intoxication similar to that achieved when smoking marijuana. This “incense” does not show up on drug tests, which has made it popular with youngsters. It was, according to the K2 website, "not intended for human consumption”.
The Dallas area has experienced teenagers showing up in hospitals with chest pains and heart palpitations after having used K2. One teen had a heart attack but survived. 19-year-old Dominique Tate, who died Friday in Dallas, used K2 regularly and it is suspected in his death. Because it does not show up on current toxicology tests, it is hard to know if it caused Mr. Tate’s death.
11 states have made the sale of K2 illegal, but Texas is not yet one of those states. It has been up to individual cities and counties to ban the substance. Kaufman County parents should be on alert for K2 use amongst their kids. At this time, K2 is not illegal in Kaufman County. Please watch the WFAA video below for more information on K2.
5 Drugs Teens Steal from Their Parents
Comments
This is very sad. Whatever made them think that this substance was good for their bodies when the package says otherwise. I feel for this boys' parents, this has to be very hard. The affects being so bad should be banned in all states. Time will tell and your broadcast report may reach out and help many lives. Shared.
What? 1 kid abuses 1 product - and the whole thing is banned? This is ludicrous scare-mongering. Sad about that kid -- but adults should not be barred from personal, private pleasures just because one dumb kid did what all dumb kids do (get in trouble).
I use K2 to treat my PTSD. It's all I can afford -- it does help relieve stress and violent inpulses. I do not abuse it. Now I can't get it? Maybe some anti-healthcare republican will help me out?
When will thiss stop.
Thanks for writing about this substance -- hadn't heard about it before.
I don't understand why gov't agencies spend all these tax dollars on banning substances such as this. As stated before by another poster, he uses it for medical relief. And how is this any different than getting all liqoured up. And I agree that it is sad what happened to that kid. But, let's get real, kids will find ways to do things they're not supposed to. Would they be banning alchohol if a kid dies in a drunk driving accident. We all know that the answer is no, because it happens everyday around the country. But, alchohol is still legal.
And again, going back to the tax dollars, the DEA has contracted a company that has developed a test to detect JWH 018 and other versions of it, but has any gov't spend money to find out what the health risks really are? Again, the death of a child is a tragic event, but can they definitively say it was because of this?
Dallas Morning News Editorial Board: K2 Ban Premature
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/storie...
Regarding any exposure data on K2, alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, I recommend you contact:
Mathias Forrester, BS
Epidemiologist
Texas Poison Center Network
Mathias.Forrester@dshs.state.tx.us
I would like to share some stats obtained from the Texas Poison Control Center, which is funded and coordinated by the Texas Department of State Health Services:
In 2009, there were 3,941 beverage alcohol exposures reported to the Texas Poison Center Network.
In 2009, there were 356 marijuana exposures reported to the TPCN.
January 1, 2010 – June 22, 2010, there were 87 exposures statewide involving K2 reported to the TPCN. During that time period, there was 1 exposure case reported in Kaufman County, and 6 exposure cases in Dallas County. This stuff has been on the market since 2006, and there have been no K2-related deaths, rape, child abuse or domestic violence.
Last June, the City of Mansfield near Fort Worth became the first city in Texas to restrict sales of K2 to persons ages 21 and older with the following ordinance:
http://www.mansfield-tx.gov/efiles/Departments/City%20Secretary/Ordinanc...
I think k2 should be monitored like alcohol but not a legal. It better than the real thing just not detected on the drug test and that the only reason they want to ban it. Look what alcohol has done and is still doing but it still isn't illegal. Making it illegal is going to make kids want to do it more.
The point is, parents need to be aware of K2--they should know what their kids are potentially messing with rather than find out later when the teen is sick or dead.
If parents can tolerate alcohol being sold in their communities, then they should have no problem with K2.
I've never heard of this before! Thanks Sherri!
Prohibition (of any substance) doesn't work. It never has (think alcohol prohibition), and it never will. make it illegal and the cartels will hop all over it like they have with other chemicals. regulate it like alcohol and cigarettes and take control of it, or ban it / make it illegal and have some cartel member peddling it to your 14 year old. the drug war is a failure. your move parents, step up.
Wow. Never heard of it. How sad. Many good points.
what about the internet? you can get 3 grams of that blue or summit k2 stuff for $12.99 a t bulk-k2.com . theres no real way to make this stuff go away
Good point! This is the 21st century. People don't need storefronts to buy and sell this stuff.
they should legalize weed. nobody has ever died from it-just got hungry and fell asleep. kids are killing theirselves trying to get a "weed-like high"
I would not be shocked to find out that all these bad reactions are coming from the counterfeit stuff, which is probably not even covered in a ban. There are people mixing stuff up in their basements and selling it on as k2 incense. I found a scary long list of fakes here, http://www.k2incense.org. There are actually only a handful of authentic blends.
i smoke k2 all day every day 6 7 blunts of it he wasa lil bitch that smoked too much know your frickin limit an dont be retarded just like you dont drink 434234 bottles of alc think of how many kids babies die from alcohal
SORRY, i DISAGREE. THERE IS NOT A PROVEN FACT THAT IT CAUSED A DEATH OR A HEART ATTACK. aND WHY NOT MAKE IT WHERE KIDS CANT GET IT LIKE CIG. MAKE THEM BE 21 BEFORE BUYING.
Listen all the people who want this shit to remain legal.. i had three strokes, one after another. this drug is very dangerous. i only used it for 3 months daily and then had a stroke. i am a very healthy individual, and i cant believe this shit is still legal.. it has killed people and harmed several of us. PLEASE save your life, and do not smoke this drug, it is not worth it i promise.
Cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands of people in the US every year but you don't hear anything about making them illegal. Stupid frat kids overdose on alcohol all the time and no one says make alcohol illegal. All these cases of people going to the hospital are young kids who freak out because they got too stoned. Limit sale to minors and encourage responsible use. No offense Austin but you sound like an idiot, you had not one but two strokes and then continued using it? I wouldn't be surprised if you were predisposed to heart conditions.
Making drugs illegal is not the answer. Research bans need to be lifted and serious studies need to be conducted to determine if there are any actual negative consequences of different drugs. Publish the results and educate children with the truth, not fear-mongering propaganda (smoking pot will make you shoot herion!). Then let adults make their own informed decisions of the risks. For example I am a smoker, I know that they cause cancer, I am aware of that.
The reason drugs like this are being banned is because they aren't making money for the current drug cartels (big-pharma, and alcohol producers). These companies donate millions of dollars to both parties to insure that non-controlled drugs stay illegal. Some of the biggest anti-marijuana proponents are some of the Rx companies who want to be able to control it's use. Having a legal herb that can treat anxiety, depression, insomnia, loss of apatite, etc will cost the drugs companies millions, if not billions. It will also keep hundreds of thousands of people out of prison, which is also bad for business. Prohibition of drugs will never work and it only encourages gangs and violence (just like during alcohol prohibition). This war on drugs has been going on for years, and guess what it'll go on for another hundred years if we don't speak up. The cost on society is too great to let this war go on any longer. Please study this subject yourself and become educated on the facts.
Great job and even relevant two years later, eh?
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