A local man said he nearly risked his life while under the influence of synthetic drugs -- and he told attendees of a packed community meeting in D.C. Monday night why he gave up the substances.
"The high takes you to another place. I had an experience where I almost jumped out my window," Chaz Graves said at Campbell A.M.E. Church in Southeast D.C. "You're not in your mind frame."
He described the risk and the appeal of the drugs known as K2, Scooby Snax and spice, which police have attributed to a spike in crime.
Synthetic drugs can be half the cost of marijuana and other drugs and often are not detected in drug tests.
D.C. enacted emergency legislation last week that creates tougher penalties for businesses caught selling synthetic drugs.
Bruce Points, a public health analyst for D.C., said the city is still figuring out how to deal with the drugs.
"Initially, tests weren't developed to test for cannabinoids or synthetics. Now there are tests that can detect, however it can't detect all of them," he said.
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The unregulated, highly addictive drugs can cause psychotic episodes, aggressive behavior and seizures, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.
"Synthetic drugs are extraordinarily serious. They're in fact deadly," D.C. Assistant Attorney General Argatonia Weatherington previously told News4.
In one week in D.C., police say, a woman abandoned a baby in a stroller alongside a busy D.C. street -- and a young man who had been in college just a year ago stabbed a passenger on a Metro train 30 to 40 times. The two crimes were tied together by the drug police believe the suspects may have been using: synthetic marijuana.
As an ex-user, Graves advised against use of drugs.
"There are so many other beautiful things you can do with your time besides smoke synthetic marijuana," he said.
