Deep in the woods of Seneca in Great Falls, three Langley students stood in shock as a fourth student – high on a new legal drug K2- threw up blood.

The drug, otherwise known as K2 or Spice, has become more common among students within the last year according to the school Drug Counselor, Ms. Dawn-Lee Evans.

Legal marijuana has been around since the mid 90’s but has recently been gaining popularity, especially among high school students. “K2 has come up on the radar within the last year,” said Evans. “There are no official statistics yet, but it is at every school in the county.”

Unlike illegal marijuana, K2 is not made from the actual marijuana plant. Instead, it’s a man-made product containing different synthetic compounds that act similarly to tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the active component in marijuana which produces the high. “K2 is very questionable since you don’t really know what’s in it. It’s a pretty big risk and you don’t know how you’re going to react to it,” explained Evans.

Sometimes not knowing what to expect can land you in the hospital, hooked up to an IV – as was the case for Ricky*, the student whose body rejected  the K2 drug after trying it out in Seneca with his friends. “I can only remember flashes of it. Everything was spinning and everything looked distorted and fake for about 15 minutes. Then I started throwing up blood. I think I passed out for a while too,” he said.

During that long scary night, not wanting to call 911 out of fear of getting in trouble for smoking, Ricky’s panicked friends called another senior, Jerry*, to come help. “The guys with him called me multiple times,” Jerry said. “The first time they told me what was going on and were just worried. The second time they called, they told me he had started throwing up blood. By the third phone call they told me I had to get over there.” Jerry went on to add: “When I got there he was lying down on a picnic table, really high and just messed up. I could see the throw up on the ground right below him.”

After witnessing such a scene, Jerry decided it was necessary to take his friend to the hospital.  “I didn’t want my other friends to get in trouble but I didn’t want him to get seriously hurt because it was looking really bad,” he said. “I put him in the backseat of my car and started driving. At first he wasn’t talking and I thought he was going downhill so I started going 70 down Springvale. Midway, he said he was starting to feel better so I slowed down. Then he told me he only feels better while I’m speeding,” Jerry said.

On the way to the hospital, Jerry had many thoughts running through his mind. “I thought he was going to die,” he says.  “He just looked so pale and I was worried.”

Jerry dragged his sick friend into the emergency room and took him to the front desk. “There were tons of people waiting but when they saw him and what kind of shape he was in they took him back to the doctor immediately. I showed the doctor what it was he smoked and called his parents.”

After being in the position he was in that night Jerry gives the advice to all kids, “just don’t smoke anything and if you do, make sure you have my number.”

He was really frightened and worried for his friend that night who he thought could possibly die in his backseat and says, “After that experience I really feel like synthetic marijuana should be illegal.”

Consequences

In the eyes of the school, whether K2 is legal or not does not matter. The consequences for possession of K2 are no different than the consequences for the possession of illegal marijuana. “From the school system’s point of view, it is considered a look-a-like drug, and the only difference is since its legal the police would probably not get involved,” said Principal Matthew Ragone. “But we would still contact them just like we do with the possession of illegal marijuana.”

*  Names have been changed