Synthetic marijuana is legal to purchase over the counter
FERNDALE — The rising popularity of a legal synthetic drug has local educators concerned about the effects on local teens.
In a letter to parents, Ferndale High School Principal Aaron Kombol described this year’s increase in usage of “spice” among students as “dramatic” and noted that reports of incidents across the country show many users are suffering from heart attacks, lung failure, extreme and uncontrollable rages, high blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, and psychosis due to spice usage. Some young people have even died.
In an interview on Monday, Kombol said his letter seemed like a necessary step, since public understanding of the available products has been slow in coming.
Ferndale High School’s first encounter with synthetic marijuana came during the last school year.
“I hadn’t even heard about it before,” Kombol said. “I try to keep up to date, but spice was a new one. We had to investigate it ourselves.”
