The truth about synthetic drugs - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

The truth about synthetic drugs

By: Kate Pabich
kpabich@cbs4qc.com

Just one try and you could die, but it's marketed as a legal high, tricking QCA parents and teens.  Synthetic drugs are the second most abused drugs, next to pot.

Friday, officials with the Illinois Poison Center and Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, sat down with  medical professionals in Galesburg, to teach them the warning signs of drug abuse and how to treat it.

K2, bath salts, and white dove are just a few names of the deadly drugs.
And what they do to people isn't pretty, organizers used one man as an example. He used the
meth-like and ended up killing himself because of it.
 
Until recently, the synthetic drugs could be bought at gas stations by teens of all ages.
 
Law enforcement says drug dealers got around bans on marijuana, meth and cocaine by simply altering the chemical make up, and selling a slightly different drug.

Tracy Sandholm, is a high school parent and says it's terrifying.

"It's very scary for a parent, it only takes one time for something to go wrong and one time unfortunately you can lose your life."

The signs of synthetic drug use include hallucinations, seizures, heart attack and sometimes even suicide.

And parents, like Tracy, say it's terrifying to know 11 percent of high school seniors nationwide have abused the drug.

"Remembering what it's like being a teen and all the pressures and it's very scary to a parent thinking our kids could be pressured into doing it"

It's now a felony to make or have synthetic drugs.

Officials say talking to your kids is the most important thing you can do to prevent drug abuse.
But if you suspect your child might be using, don't be afraid to go through their room