Many states and cities have banned or are working on banning synthetic marijuana, a substance made from natural plant material that is sprayed with chemicals to mimic the active ingredient in marijuana, THC.

The use of synthetic marijuana is a rapidly growing trend among young people, and students at UNA are using it as well, according to officials.

“There are a lot of serious side effects from it,” said Dr. Carol Grace, director of emergency physicians at Shoals Hospital.

Grace said many people who utilize Spice and K2, popular synthetic marijuana substances, don’t know what they can actually do to them.

“It has a variety of symptoms,” she said.

The chemicals could cause people to have side effects such as heart palpitations, suicidal thoughts and a multitude of other side effects. The symptoms and side effects can be abrupt, Grace said.

“It stays in the system; it’s bound up in the system like THC,” Grace said.

Many people do not know how harmful the chemicals can be to their body, Grace said.

“Depending on which chemical has been sprayed on, it could be up to 40 times worse (than marijuana),” she said.

The effects are hard to treat because most of the time tests do not indicate the chemicals, Grace said. All doctors can do is treat the symptoms when people come in to the emergency room suffering the effects of the synthetic marijuana, she said.

“You really don’t know what you are getting,” Grace said. “You don’t know what it was laced with.”

Local law enforcement authorities are running into the substance more and are working to inform the public of its harmful side effects.

“It will eventually be outlawed here, I would think,” said UNA police Chief Bob Pastula. “The DEA tried to have it outlawed. I’m not sure what the hold up is.”

In many cases, the substance can cause effects that are worse than other drugs such as marijuana, Pastula said. It impairs the ability to drive a car just as badly as other drugs and alcohol can, he said.

“A lot of the parts of it are made from the cannabis plant,” Pastula said. “It’s not safe. Even though it’s legal at the moment, and it’s not marijuana, it’s still not safe. You don’t have any idea how your body is going to react.

“We are starting to run into it a little bit more here.”

UNA police responded to a complaint in the residence halls recently, Pastula said. It smells like marijuana and looks like marijuana, he said. The synthetic marijuana doesn’t show up on an officer’s on-site drug test, he said.

“I think it has more effects,” he said. “Depending how much you take, it can have worse effects than marijuana. You don’t know what is in the synthetic marijuana. The harmful effects could be long lasting.”