'Spice' traps troops

[dkf]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110425__Spice__traps_troops.html

New synthetic substances not found by most tests have become a problem on post, the military says

By William Cole

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 25, 2011


Schofield Barracks soldier Spc. Bryan Roudebush smoked the designer drug "Spice" and then beat his girlfriend and tried to throw her off an 11th-floor balcony in Waikiki.

He said in court he didn't remember what happened that night in April 2010.

Synthetic cannabinoids, including Spice and K2, and so-called "Bath Salts" laced with drugs that cause effects similar to cocaine and meth­am­pheta­mine, are being increasingly abused by military members looking to beat tests that screen for traditional drugs but not synthetics, officials say.

Despite the lack of random testing, the Navy Region Hawaii Criminal Investigation Division has handled seven synthetic drug-related investigations involving at least 40 suspected users in Hawaii in the past year.

The Air Force recently became the first service to start randomly screening for designer drugs in urinalysis tests, officials in Hawaii said.