Posted at: 05/17/2011 6:44 PM
By: Gordon Severson

Print Story  Email to a Friend

Synthetics Drugs Prevention

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- They're called synthetic drugs and the scary thing is they're legal.
All across the country kids are abusing these drugs not knowing the harm they can bring.

It's a growing problem for much of the country, but it's even worse in Winona.

"It has skyrocketed here compared to other cities because I think we have some local dealers here," Winona Community Liaison Officer Kevin Kearney said.

Police say synthetic drugs which are street named plant food first turned up in Winona about three months ago when officers arrested a man with cocaine.

"The person that we got it from was adamant that it was not cocaine. Upon further testing we found out it was not cocaine. It was plant food," Kearney explained.

The thing that concerns police officers and drug counselors the most is the fact that these synthetic drugs can legally be shipped through the mail as well as purchased at smoke shops and novelty stores.

"I'm just afraid kids are going to be dying from this," Chemical Health Counselor Todd Hoffe said.

Hoffe knows the dangers of "plant food" all too well. He works at Hiawatha Valley Mental health Center with nearly 50 kids that have taken the drugs.

"Some of the younger kids are 12 to 13 years old. Five years ago the average age of kids I was working with was 16-17. Now it's more like 13,14 or 15," Hoffe explained.

The common fear is that kids think the drugs are more tame, because they're legal. In fact it's the opposite. Many of the drugs are between 3-10 times more concentrated and can produce many negative effects.

"One of the big things we're seeing is a lot of the anger and aggression along with that we're seeing a lot of paranoia and hallucinations. It depends on the frequency and duration of what they're using," Becky Windschitl of Hiawatha Valley Mental Health said.

At the state capitol legislation is in the works to ban the sale, use and distribution of these drugs. But law enforcement officials say that will only stop them for so long.

"I think we're just seeing the tip of the ice berg," said Hoffe.