Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill, SB 370, yesterday making all forms of synthetic marijuana illegal. Prior to the signing of the bill, synthetic marijuana, also called SPICE, was legal, popular and sold in such common places as convenience stores and tattoo parlors. Over the past year or so, the popularity of the drug’s usage has caught the attention of local law enforcement and citizens alike.

As recently as last month in Fannin County, Citizen Melinda Cornwell, whose son had been smoking SPICE for a year, called on the county to address the issue.

“My son has been taken to the doctor twice,”

Cornwell told the board of commissioners,

“He’s gone from a size 48 pants to a size 44 pants in four days…He started hallucinating last night; he’s been hallucinating for 24 hours. We have to restrain him in a chair.”

She said she was told the hallucinations could last for the rest of her son’s life or for the next six months and that the doctor’s did not know how long they would last. She also said her son’s gall bladder is inflamed, his lungs are “burnt-up,” and the drug is affecting something in his brain, which the doctor’s are unable to explain. Emphasizing the severity of the problem, she told a story about a 43 year old woman in town who smoked SPICE and immediately starting seizing in front of her 15 year old daughter.

Prior to Cornwell’s plea before the board of commissioners, EMA Director Lonnie Oliver addressed the board on the same issue, noting the increase in SPICE related calls and that it was becoming a problem in the county.

Also, last month, Pickens County EMS Director Sloan Elrod reported an increase in emergency calls. Although he could not confirm that SPICE was the cause of the increase, he did note several SPICE related calls lately. He said both drugs (SPICE and Bath Salts) are difficult to test in the field because no immediate test is available. With certain drugs, the user’s pupils dilate. However, any dilation in the eyes is nearly indiscernible with SPICE and Salts users. At the time, Elrod in addition lamented the legality of the drugs. In addition, Gilmer County Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management Tony Pritchett also acknowledged the escalating usage and detriment of the drug.

A press release from the governor’s office yesterday highlighted the dangers of the drug.

“According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers,”

it said,

“there were 6,959 calls nationwide related to adverse effects associated with synthetic cannabinoid compounds in 2011. This is nearly 2.4 times the amount of calls in 2010. Doctors have determined that synthetic marijuana can cause psychosis and increase the tendency of violent behavior. In September of last year, a Bulloch County woman was hospitalized after her boyfriend brutally assaulted her while under the influence of synthetic marijuana. Just this month, a 17-year-old in Washington state who was high on synthetic marijuana fatally stabbed a sleeping schoolmate because he felt ‘an urge to hurt someone.’”

The new law re-defines controlled substances to include the chemical compounds that comprise synthetic marijuana (SPICE).

“These synthetic substances pose an enormous risk to our public safety,”

Deal said, adding,

“As the usage has dramatically increased, instances of violence, bodily harm and even death have risen with it. I applaud the GBI and the General Assembly for their fast work on this legislation, which addresses a pressing need.”

The new law will be named Chase’s Law. The title is given

“in memory of Chase Corbitt Burnett, a 16-year-old honor student and soccer player found dead in a hot tub at his parent’s Fayette County home after smoking the substance. Burnett’s family joined GBI Director Vernon Keenan, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, House Speaker Ralston and others at the bill signing,”

the press release from the governor’s office stated.