State unleashes new weapon on synthetic drugs

There were so many loopholes and escape plans for the makers of synthetic drugs that the Illinois attorney generals office was having trouble crack-ing down on them.

But by changing tactics, the office has been able to get about $700,000 worth of drugs referred to as synthetic marijuana and bath salts since December. The drugs can be bought over the counter, but investigators were alarmed by the harmful effects they could have such as neurological problems and suicidal thoughts.

Retailers selling the drugs can now face a Class 2 felony that can land a $125,000 fine for a first conviction and $250,000 for a second conviction.

Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff in Attorney General Lisa Madigans office, said the importance of the issue came to their attention from Tom McNamara, special projects coordinator for the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group, at the methamphetamine conference at John A. Logan College.

McNamara said the products referred to as bath salts, which are not the products used in the bathtub, are made from cathinone, which he said can have some of the same effects as metham-phetamines but can also add hallucinations.

He said the synthetic cannibinoids used to make synthetic marijuana have no relation whatsoever to actual cannabis.

Its not synthetic mari-juana; its poison, McNamara said.

Smith said the chemicals made to use the substance are a moving target because the creators al-ways change them to stay ahead of the law. While there are disclaimers on the packages saying what chemicals are not in the substances, there are no descriptions of what is, nor is there information on where the products are made or who makes them.

During an investigation, Smith said she found about 20 young people purchasing synthetic drugs from a tobacco store in Winnebago County. She said a store owner in Mount Vernon claimed to make $12,000 a day from the products.

One question was who to prosecute? She said prosecuting the buyers or the retailers would not be very beneficial because technically, they are not breaking the law.

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State unleashes new weapon on synthetic drugs