The packets of herbs go by names such as K2, spice or herb.
They are sold as aromatherapy incense, but it's not the smell that's luring most customers, it's the high.
"A student did receive treatment from a medical emergency team,” said Lyford Consolidated School District Superintendent Eduardo Infante. “There is no cause of concern for any other students or parents.”
Tuesday morning a medical helicopter landed at Lyford High School to pick up a student who had chest pains after smoking a marijuana cigarette.
Infante could not confirm if the female student was smoking K2.
But investigators tell us the students heart rate jumped up to 160 and 180 beats per minute.
The normal heart rate is below 100 beats per minute.
“It's something that's very dangerous,” said Sergeant Rolando Garcia with the San Juan Police Department. “It's something that's made, that has chemicals.”
The illegal chemical is called JWH.
We found this fake pot readily available in local stores.
It was outlawed last April in Texas said Garcia, making it illegal to manufacture, distribute, possess and sell the substance.
“They will get jail time,” said Garcia. “It is a serious deal. They will be sent to county jail and will see a judge just like the possession of marijuana charges.”
K2 can be up to 15 times more powerful than marijuana and lead to a disturbing range of symptoms Garcia says.
It's not detected by drug test either.
“But the effects are going to be the same it is noticeable,” Garcia said. “If one of our officers stops a person under the influence of K2 they are going to show signs and symptoms and the officer is going to be able to detect it.”
That's a warning police have a hard time getting out there as the reputation of a high that's easy to get and hard to detect spreads quickly in the valley.
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