Synthetic marijuana still causing heartache in Manatee County

When Jan Froelich noticed her 16-year-old son's anxiety and mood swings were getting worse around Christmas, she knew she couldn't attribute them just to adolescence.

And when he complained of a rapid heart beat, she got to bottom of the problem: He was smoking synthetic marijuana.

"I didn't know this stuff was out there," said Froelich, a registered nurse and the director of cardiovascular services at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

Synthetic marijuana is sold over-the-counter at many convenience stores and gas stations as an herbal incense with such names as K2, Serenity Now, Herbal Spice, Red Magic, Black Mamba and Mr. Sticky.

Although the packages have "Not for Human Consumption" printed on them, people, many of them teenagers, are smoking it.

Smoking the herbal incense affects individuals differently, but it tends to enhance anxiety or even cause psychosis, according to Dr. Steven Watsky, an emergency room physician at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and Manatee Memorial Hospital.

"Some people are prone to nervousness and psychosis," Watsky said. "The drug brings it out."

The Froelichs had to have their son committed to a psychiatric treatment facility to deal with his problem. With all they have been through, Jan Froelich wants to make sure other parents and teenagers are aware of the danger.

"Kids think they're smoking marijuana and they're not -- it's 10 times worse," she warned. "I want to prevent this from happening to someone else's child.

"We're going into spring break and when kids get freaky."

The American College of Emergency Physicians has reported an alarming in

crease in the use of synthetic or chemically enhanced drugs.

"In 2010, there were a little fewer than 2,900 calls to poison control centers regarding synthetic marijuana exposure," the group states. "That number nearly doubled in the first eight months of 2011."

The Florida Legislature passed a law last year making the possession and sale of synthetic marijuana illegal.

Capt. Warren Merriman, of the Bradenton Police Department, said after the law was passed the department conducted training for retailers in the city during June and July.

"We told them the law would be enforced on Oct. 1, 2011," Merriman said. "We have not seen many violations since."

Dave Bristow, spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, said the situation was the same in the county jurisdiction.

"I'm sure it's out there," Bristow said, "but you have to understand they are getting around the law by changing the chemical makeup."

Of the few patients being treated at the Manatee Glens facilities, most of them are teenagers, according to Nestor Levesque, assistant director for adult outpatient services.

Levesque said many of the patients have successful recoveries with group therapy and support, along with individual therapy sessions.

"The longer they are in treatment," Levesque said, "the better off they are in the long run."