Apr 01, 2011
Q. What is K2?
A. K2 is the common name for incense that is laced with toxic, mind-altering chemicals. It is also called spice, genie or synthetic marijuana, among other things. K2 is packaged as a harmless product. Young adults are smoking it to obtain what they consider to be a “legal high.” Many of them think K2 is natural and, therefore, harmless, when in fact K2 is anything but natural and harmless. According to a recent study, most of the chemicals found in K2 aren’t even on the package ingredient list for the incense that has been laced. The study determined that this was intentionally done to be misleading. Most of the chemicals that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has identified in K2 were invented in the 1990s and used in experiments on mice. The researchers never intended for the chemicals to be used outside the laboratory, so the chemicals were never tested on humans.
Q. What are the effects of K2?
A. Common effects are elevated heart rate and blood pressure, seizures, agitation, panic attacks, passing out and significant hallucinations. K2 can be deadly. On June 6, 2010, an 18-year-old Iowan, David Rozga, smoked a package of K2 with friends. They bought it at a shopping mall in Des Moines and, since it was legal and marketed to appear natural, they thought smoking it would be risk-free fun. According to David’s friends, after smoking K2, he became extremely agitated and terrified. He killed himself with a shotgun less than two hours later. By all accounts David was a happy young man looking forward to starting college in the fall. David’s family and friends believe that he would still be alive if he hadn’t smoked K2. The police investigation found no evidence that David was suicidal.
David’s tragic case isn’t an isolated incident. During the summer of 2010, a 28-year-old mother of two in Indiana and a 19-year-old man in Texas died, possibly from heart failure due to K2 use. In January 2011, an Omaha teen shot two school administrators, killing one, before taking his own life. Medical tests revealed that K2 was in his system at the time of death. Another case involved a 21-year-old Indiana man who slit his throat while high on K2 for the first time. Luckily, his mother was able to control the bleeding until help arrived. Another former K2 user recently said of the drug, “It can make a person who is sane, insane.”
Q. What can be done to stop K2-related tragedies?
A. With Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, I introduced the David Mitchell Rozga Act in March of this year. Senator Feinstein and I are co-chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Our bill would ban the chemicals identified in K2 by the Drug Enforcement Administration and list them as illegal substances in the same category as other deadly drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine. The chemicals used to make this drug would be banned permanently and nationwide. This legislation would also increase the timeframe the Drug Enforcement Agency has to temporarily ban a substance from 18 months to 36 months. This increased timeframe would help the Drug Enforcement Administration to remove other dangerous substances from the market to be studied for a permanent ban. David Rozga’s father, Mike Rozga, is now a national advocate for banning K2 and is testifying in April before a hearing of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control in Washington, D.C.
Passage of the David Mitchell Rozga Act is a necessary response to this harmful and dangerous drug. It would help prevent further senseless tragedies.
Apr 01, 2011
Q. What is K2?
A. K2 is the common name for incense that is laced with toxic, mind-altering chemicals. It is also called spice, genie or synthetic marijuana, among other things. K2 is packaged as a harmless product. Young adults are smoking it to obtain what they consider to be a “legal high.” Many of them think K2 is natural and, therefore, harmless, when in fact K2 is anything but natural and harmless. According to a recent study, most of the chemicals found in K2 aren’t even on the package ingredient list for the incense that has been laced. The study determined that this was intentionally done to be misleading. Most of the chemicals that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has identified in K2 were invented in the 1990s and used in experiments on mice. The researchers never intended for the chemicals to be used outside the laboratory, so the chemicals were never tested on humans.
Q. What are the effects of K2?
A. Common effects are elevated heart rate and blood pressure, seizures, agitation, panic attacks, passing out and significant hallucinations. K2 can be deadly. On June 6, 2010, an 18-year-old Iowan, David Rozga, smoked a package of K2 with friends. They bought it at a shopping mall in Des Moines and, since it was legal and marketed to appear natural, they thought smoking it would be risk-free fun. According to David’s friends, after smoking K2, he became extremely agitated and terrified. He killed himself with a shotgun less than two hours later. By all accounts David was a happy young man looking forward to starting college in the fall. David’s family and friends believe that he would still be alive if he hadn’t smoked K2. The police investigation found no evidence that David was suicidal.
David’s tragic case isn’t an isolated incident. During the summer of 2010, a 28-year-old mother of two in Indiana and a 19-year-old man in Texas died, possibly from heart failure due to K2 use. In January 2011, an Omaha teen shot two school administrators, killing one, before taking his own life. Medical tests revealed that K2 was in his system at the time of death. Another case involved a 21-year-old Indiana man who slit his throat while high on K2 for the first time. Luckily, his mother was able to control the bleeding until help arrived. Another former K2 user recently said of the drug, “It can make a person who is sane, insane.”
Q. What can be done to stop K2-related tragedies?
A. With Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, I introduced the David Mitchell Rozga Act in March of this year. Senator Feinstein and I are co-chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Our bill would ban the chemicals identified in K2 by the Drug Enforcement Administration and list them as illegal substances in the same category as other deadly drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine. The chemicals used to make this drug would be banned permanently and nationwide. This legislation would also increase the timeframe the Drug Enforcement Agency has to temporarily ban a substance from 18 months to 36 months. This increased timeframe would help the Drug Enforcement Administration to remove other dangerous substances from the market to be studied for a permanent ban. David Rozga’s father, Mike Rozga, is now a national advocate for banning K2 and is testifying in April before a hearing of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control in Washington, D.C.
Passage of the David Mitchell Rozga Act is a necessary response to this harmful and dangerous drug. It would help prevent further senseless tragedies.