Hi, my name is Sergeant Tony Landado and I am currently assigned to our media relations department for the Mesa Police Department. Um, today what we wanted to create was a public service announcement specifically on the topic of synthetic drugs. Uh, and the two most common the two that you're seeing in the media mostly uh and that we're seeing in law enforcement is spice and bath salts. So, we chose to focus on those. because we even have some examples in front of us that we're going to talk a little bit about that. So, I have two guests with me today that are going to help with our public service announcement. To my right, I have Stephanie Cete and she is the director of community education for Community Bridges. And to my left, I have Rebecca Rule and she is a forensic scientist at the Mesa Police Department's crime lab, our chemist. So, today we're going to talk about uh as I said, spice and bath salts. And in front of me, I have several examples. So, we're going to zoom in here a little bit so you get an idea of what they look like uh as we describe them. To my to my right, your far left, we have on a piece of paper uh a an example of what spice looks like. And then right behind it, we have three examples of the packaging that you might see in a store uh that is selling it. What we decided to do is put a a little bit of marijuana out right next to it so you get an idea of of what the two look like, how they're similar. And a lot of people might uh think they're the same type of thing. Uh but they're really not. Spice is not spice. And that's important to to point out. And certainly the effects of spice versus marijuana is very different. And as we look over here to your right, we have an example of some of the packaging of bath salts with an actual example of it here to the far right on the paper. And right next to it, we have some methamphetamine. So you get an idea of what that looks like. So what we're going to start off with is we're going to give you a little bit of a historic perspective how when this started becoming popular and I'm going to ask Stephanie to talk a little bit about that. Sure. Sure. I'm going to talk about spice here first. Spice, I think a lot of people started taking notice of it in around 2010. That's when most of our American Association of Poison Control Center reports started to come out. Was just a few years ago. And for people watching this that want more information, again, you can go to aapcc.org as well as look at these DAWN reports. They stand for Drug Abuse Warning Network. You look up synthetic drugs and you're going to get a lot of information. But in terms of history, I mean those are going to take you into like how many people are using it and what's happening. But how did this come to be? In back in 1995, a professor at Clemson, Clemson University, John W. Huffman, that's important because a lot of the chemicals that we see in here are tied to JW and it's a professor's name. He was awarded funding to study the effects of marijuana on the human brain. Great opportunity to learn more about marijuana. Yet the study asked, can you create other chemicals? And so he did. He created over 400 other compounds or chemicals, sprayed them on a plant base. And this is where we came up with spice. This being public information, people were able to access the information online and duplicate the recipes. And that's one of the problems that we face is just with our technology. People can purchase it online. They can manufacture it online. And you know, I'll say it now, I'll say it later. It might look like marijuana, but it is not marijuana. It was tied to a study. But we, you keep in mind, we created in this country alternative chemicals, synthetic lab created chemicals that I might as well just explain now, produce crazy effects. Delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia. I mean, that doesn't sound like marijuana at all, does it? No, not at all. I mean, we're uh typically you think of marijuana is is kind of mellow you out and slow you down and and I think that's a really important distinction, especially for young folks who are experimenting. If they think that that, you know, that this is what they're in store for, something along the lines of marijuana, uh they are in for a big shock. And I can tell you just recently in the last year, our department, we've had several calls where the fire department has gone out to a high school where several students have are exhibiting signs of this and we find out that uh it's spice. They've passed out some spice and they've ended up smoking it and they're just as Stephanie said, they've got, you know, elevated heart uh heartbeat and heart rate and temperatures and things like that. So definitely not marijuana. Those are some telltale signs for parents. Um I mean because we work a lot with the schools as you said the nurses, they know if a kid comes into their office and they have the temperature elevated, the heartbeat, the blood pressure is elevated, they're going to assume right away that this is spice. And a lot of the times kids will get sick, nauseous, and perhaps throw up. They sometimes will self-report. They'll tell you what they did because they feel so sick as a result of this. So bottom line, it's not pot. It's been around. It's It's been around, but we still don't know a lot because it only became popular in recent years. And the effects, I would just summarize by saying, are unknown. We don't know long-term stuff on this. You know, 5 years from now, 10 years from now, we don't know what this is going to do. Some states are reporting kidney failure tied to it. So, it's a guessing game, and I guess we'll learn as time passes. Well, and let's talk a little bit about the chemical side of this. Uh, and you can shed a little bit of light on that. uh what they're doing and what they were were doing to circumvent the law on this. Um basically the substances are lab created as Stephanie said. These are not natural substances. They are synthetic and it is sprayed onto a plant material. Um previously they were banning each specific compound. So they just change a small portion of it and they get around the law. Well, there has now been a new law enacted, House Bill 2327. And Representative Farnsworth from Gilbert had a really good analogy that he used. And that is previously they had regulated um picture a Christmas tree with lights and decorations. And they'd say, "Oh, a Christmas tree with red lights and a star on top. That's the compound." Well, they'd go, "Okay." They'd remove a star. they put an angel on it and change a couple of the bulbs and say, "Ha, now it's different." Well, the new law controls that and says, "No, it's still a Christmas tree. It doesn't matter what decorations you put on it or what pieces you change, but the main portion of that is going to be controlled. No matter what you do to the exterior, what little pieces you change, that main structure is illegal." So that's how they've broadened the law to control it. And I think uh an important thing to point out while on that topic is uh in doing those little changes, they're they're definitely affecting uh someone who may have used a similar product one day or one week and then maybe go and purchase that exact same thing. Exactly. If they if they caught it during a switch, you know, where oh we're get we need to alter this a little bit. they may be in store for something different than they had already been experiencing. Yeah, you're exactly right. And we've seen this in the laboratory when we have actually brought samples in to test. We have actually had the same packaging, sealed packaging marked the same from the same uh purchase point or the same store and it was two different compounds when we tested it. In fact, one of them was actually a mixture of compounds. So, the users maybe have a misconception that they can go in and only buy the Smok and Dragon brand and they know what they're getting and that's the only one I use and I know that that one's safe because I've used it before. Well, no, cuz it may not be the same compound that's on it the next time. You have no idea what you're getting. It could be a mixture of compounds. There are no regulations, no testing done to any of this. So, it's not like anything else like any food product that FDA would normally regulate. These have no regulations. Nothing. All right. So, let's uh switch a little bit here and let's start talking about bath salts. First of all, uh and I think I said it earlier, uh a lot of people asked us on our social media pages, is are we talking about the bath salts that I can buy at the store and I take after a hard day of work? Uh absolutely not. Bath salts is not bath salts. And uh it's really just a street term that they that they have adopted to describe this synthetic drug. So I if you if there's one thing you remember about the bath salts end of it, it's not bath salts. It's a drug. And I'll let Stephanie talk a little bit about that. And I'm jumping at the bit to explain this. And these are just code words. That's all it is. The easy takeaway is code words. spice, you know, that's the drug name, but then it's like poperri and incense. At least when that first came out and people heard it was tied to marijuana, they made an association is drugrelated. These are cathones. Cathodes are stimulants, very potent, dangerous amphetamines or stimulants. And the code name that they sell it as is bath salts, glass cleaner. Um, I've even seen it as souvenir or insect repellent. There's so many different names. Herbal incense enhancer. Yeah. Ladybug attractant. That was one that I saw. That was Yes. Cuz we all need to attract ladybugs. My point is these clever marketing tools behind this stuff. A drug is a drug is a drug. The thing about that we keep re-emphasizing is we don't really know a lot about this stuff. Bath salts, interestingly enough though, have been around in Europe for about 7 years. They didn't gain popularity though in our country till about 2010. There was a little over 300 incidents in 2010. One year later, American Association of Poison Control Centers saw over 6,000 calls in one year's time. So, this stuff is the most potent. I don't even want to compare it to methamphetamine because it's more than that. You know, um I think bath salts gained attention nationally and internationally with that cannibalism report and attack. It's not normal to have crazy, aggressive, animalistic, violent, bizarre behavior like that. I mean, this is more along the lines of um LSD or PCP type of behaviors. Yeah. And well, we even see some of that even with the spice where they get delusional. Sure. It's extreme delusions. I think the last thing that I would also just comment on is that the delusions and the hallucinations. That sounds scary enough, but they're, you know, past drugs like ecstasy and cocaine, they'd say the effects last three to four hours, three to four days. Day days on this stuff. And as it continues to be out there, people are seeing lingering effects that are from months ago. They used months ago and they're still under psychosis, hearing voices, and hallucinating. And the DEA has even deemed it an imminent threat to public safety. Suicide, homicide, scary stuff. And again, with the bath salts, it's the same as the spice. They don't know what they're getting. There are a number of different compounds and they've changed these compounds just slightly to try and get around the original laws. And even though you may buy this particular brand, the next time you get it, not the same thing. It could be something totally different. It could be a mixture of compounds. Again, no standards, no regulations. They're just worried about getting a compound out there as fast as they can. Yes. Right. And I don't know that we touched on this. Uh primarily, I mean, spice is something that is smoked. It's something that they use along the same lines as marijuana. Now, bass salts, um they snort it, they smoke it, they inject it. Uh we there's a particularly disturbing story that we recently heard about a a young woman uh so anxious to get her high injected this stuff. Uh she ended up getting an infection that they ended up having to remove her arm and shoulder and even her breast. Yeah. It caused the flesheating bacteria that traveled so fast that was the only way they could stop it. Right. So it's these differences that have made it difficult for law enforcement. Uh you know the the the slight alteration. We don't know what we're dealing with. Is this the illegal one? Is this the the non-ilgal one? You know that type of thing. And hopefully this House bill that was recently passed is a step in the right direction. It certainly broadens our ability to seize these items and actually charge a person with it without having to to break it down quite so far chemically, if you will. Uh, in terms of education, if there's parents, do you have any other advice for folks out there that are concerned about either friends, relatives, children? Sure. But just to expand on that house bill, everyone should know this. Parents should convey this to their children. This is an illegal drug now that bath salts and spice are now just in the same category as dangerous drugs as methamphetamine. You know, kids think, "Oh, it's safe and I can use it." You're going to face charges. Now, this was effective immediately April 3rd, 2013. So, we are trying to remove it from our communities because it's illegal to possess it, sell it, manufacture, and transfer it. We need to get that message out there as well as the education behind this. Parents, this is a stepping stone today by tuning in. Continue to be educated. As I said, your American Association of Poison Control Centers is a great start. As well as local resources like our Mesa Prevention Alliance.org, that's here. And there's opportunities to go to trainings, to go to meetings. The agency I work for, we work very closely with you guys. Community Bridges, you got to add the a community bridges.org for our website, but we're available 24 hours a day. Um, we've been in state of Arizona now for over 30 years providing behavioral health care services, uh, treating substance abuse. So, stay ahead of the game, try to stay as educated as possible. It's never too early to start talking to your kids. And if you need to know more information, we're here to answer those questions and help you with resources. So, if if there's any questions that weren't answered today, please reach out to someone. reach out to your local law enforcement, reach out to community bridges to try to get those questions answered. If you want to can drop a message on our social media pages at the Mesa Police Department, um, and we didn't address a certain question you may have had, uh, send us those questions. We'll try to get them answered. I'll reach out to whoever I need to to to answer the questions for you. So, I thank you both for being here today and we appreciate you for your time. Thank you. Thank you.