When synthetic drugs hit the Oklahoma marketplace in 2008, the sale of substances like "spice," "K2," "potpourri," and "bath salts," was extremely profitable for convenience stores and head shops. They could legally sell these drugs at a significant markup, and consumers would quickly shell out cash for a "legal" high.
It was soon discovered that the synthetic drugs were at least as dangerous as the real thing, if not more so, and Oklahoma legislators acted quickly to ban synthetic drugs. Initially, synthetic marijuana and synthetic cocaine, marketed as herbal incense or bath salts, were banned under the state's new synthetic drug laws. However, the manufacturers of these synthetic drugs were able to skirt the law by tweaking the formulas or creating new synthetic drugs.
Last year, Oklahoma modified existing legislation to not only ban synthetic drugs themselves, but also some 250 chemicals commonly used in manufacturing synthetic drugs. This made it easier to prosecute store owners who were selling the banned substances by closing some of the synthetic drug loopholes, but just as before, manufacturers develop new substances that are not currently on the controlled substances drug schedules, letting some shop owners believe they are selling a legal substance.
State and local law enforcement agencies have busted numerous shops for selling K2, spice, potpourri, and bath salts. Although some store owners say that the substances are legal, many still promote them as giving a good buzz or high. Still, many owners who say their shops sell only legal substances have been arrested and prosecuted due to ambiguities in Oklahoma's synthetic drug laws.
The biggest problem for law enforcement is that these substances are constantly evolving, and even if they were able to completely eradicate the sale of synthetic drugs from Oklahoma businesses, people still purchase these controlled substances over the internet.
Last weekend, two teenagers in McClain County were hospitalized after overdosing on 25C, a synthetic LSD marketed as "Smiles." The teens, aged 16 and 17, ingested one 1/8-inch square of the synthetic drug, which drug officials say is so powerful that it can immediately seep through the skin on contact. According to McClain County Sheriff Don Hewitt, one of the teens was transported to OU Medical Center in critical condition.
Synthetic drugs are typically not a legal high, as some retailers would have consumers believe. Although the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD) says that raids on stores selling synthetic drugs have led to a decrease in the number of people willing to risk synthetic drug sales in their businesses, the rate of hospitalization associated with these drugs has continued to increase, in part due to online accessibility.
To find out more about Oklahoma drug laws, click here, or submit a confidential case review form to schedule a free consultation with a drug defense lawyer.
