Montgomery Officials Say “Spice” Use on the Rise
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Emergency officials say they’re seeing an increase in the use of synthetic marijuana lately and want to remind people of the dangers of the deadly drug.
Alabama News Network first broke this story at noon.
Today, a roundtable discussion was held involving several state agencies to get the word out about spice.
Public Safety Director Chris Murphy is calling synthetic marijuana, also called spice, a “huge deal” right now. Up until about three years ago, it could be sold in convenient stores and gas stations but law makers cracked down on the drug and there are now strict regulations in place.
And authorities say things haven’t been this bad since before the drug was made illegal.
Synthetic marijuana or Spice–is on the rise in Montgomery.
“What parents need to understand is it doesn’t have a smell, like marijuana, and it looks like grass,” says Cpt. A.F. Tatum with the Montgomery Police Department.
Health officials say it’s so deadly, it can kill you after just one use. Montgomery emergency officials say since Thursday, more than 40 calls have come in having to do with spice. Four more came in Monday morning. The medics responding to the calls say the symptoms are obvious.
“We’re also seeing seizures, vomiting, like everything is elevated vital sign-wise, blood pressure, respiration, a lot of people saying ‘I’m hot,'” says Lt. Matt Morgan with the Fire Department.
Often called “legal weed,” authorities say there’s a misconception that spice is safe. It doesn’t show up on standard drug tests and it can look as innocent as grass. Major Scott Simmons with the Montgomery Police Department says spice is actually MORE dangerous than other drugs.
“That’s the thing, you don’t know what you’re getting,” he says. “Every time you get it, it can have a different chemical makeup.”
A makeup that may include rat poison and insecticides. Public Safety Director Chris Murphy says dealers are making big profits off of it.
“It’s going to be pushed more we believe because it’s such a high profit margin. Some estimate that up to three times as large a margin than marijuana.”
And it’s not just a problem in the city. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham says parents need to be aware of just how dangerous the drug is.
“It’s something that, it could be that one time that you sample it and you never know what’s going on with your body and you can just shut down.”
Spice is most commonly used by young people, from teenagers to mid-twenties. Surrounding cities are also seeing an increase in spice use, there was recently a spice-related death in Tuscaloosa.
Authorities say they have had very little cooperation from those who have overdosed. And they need your help to track down the dealers.
If you have any information, you are encouraged to call the Montgomery Police Department at (334) 241-2651
