Mayor Vincent Gray and the DC Department of Health (DOH), Washington, DC, have launched the city’s first campaign geared toward combating instances of synthetic marijuana use among District youth by highlighting the negative side effects and dangers of the illegal drug.
Synthetic marijuana goes by a variety of different names such as Spice, Spice Gold, K2, Zombie World, Scooby Snax, and Potpourri.
It is often packaged in bright, colorful 3-ounce plastic pouches decorated with designs, graphic imagery, sayings from cartoon characters, popular movies, and other recognizable mainstream logos. Public health and law enforcement officials have traced the sale of the drug to many District tobacco and smoke shops, gas stations, convenient stores, and it can even be purchased over the Internet.
| Synthetic Marijuana’s Appearance and Side Effects The drug is often mistaken for a natural or herbal product as a result of false advertising. It is made of shredded plant material and is typically marketed as “100 percent organic herbs,” wrongfully convincing consumers that they are using a natural product that is completely safe. Additional public health data show that synthetic marijuana contains a vast number of extremely harmful and dangerous chemical additives. Side effects of the drug have been linked to dizziness, chills, rapid heart rate, fainting, coma, vomiting and in some documented cases stroke, blood clots, loss of body movement and motor skills, brain damage and blindness. |
Focus Group Data and Report Findings:
According to reports from the District of Columbia Prevention Centers, the average age of synthetic marijuana users in the city is 13 years old. Recent focus group findings in partnership with DOH and local youth-based organizations indicate that synthetic marijuana is seen as an alternative to marijuana, as a result of its cheap cost and ability to go undetected in routine drug testing.
The 2012 “Monitoring the Future” study found that synthetic marijuana now ranks as the second most frequently used illegal drug among high school seniors, after marijuana.
The campaign will be visible across the city throughout the spring and summer with advertising on Metro transit, Internet, newspapers, radio, and billboards. There will also be an interactive website, www.K2ZombieDC.com; and social media elements where District youth can interact directly with the campaign elements.
[Source: DC Department of Health]
