This spring, a 21-year-old soon-to-be Grambling State graduate with ambitions to become a lawyer was found dead in a drainage ditch at Girard Park.

"Someone might ask: 'How can such a bright, intelligent, passionate person end up like this?'" said Tamika Joseph, sister of Alexandria Shelton, whose death on April 13 was ruled an accidental drowning.

"Synthetic marijuana."

The commercialized version of cannabis was found in Shelton's system, according to the coroner's report.

The same drug has sent at least 18 people to the hospital in Lafayette over the past two weeks.

MORE: Synthetic pot sends 18 people to Lafayette hospitals

Synthetic marijuana is not a new problem. In January, businessman Daniel Paul Francis pleaded guilty in federal court to selling synthetic marijuana in local Curious Goods stores. In March, the Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force charged the owner of a local business, Olabisi Aromas, after discovering a large synthetic cannabinoids manufacturing operation in the owner's home.

The laws

Labeled as herbal incense, synthetic marajuana refers to a range of herbal concoctions "that produce experiences similar to marijuana and that are marketed as 'safe,' legal alternatives to that drug," according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

There are local, state and federal laws that attempt to control the sale and use of the product.

At the federal level, the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act was signed into law in July 2012, adding certain compounds found in synthetic marijuana to the list of nationally banned controlled substances. Currently, 41 states have banned synthetic canniboids, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The first statewide ban in Louisiana came in March, followed by two more in July. It's an effort to classify the synthetic marijuana compounds under Schedule I controlled substances, which according to the Drug Enforcement Administration are drugs that have no accepted medical use and are often highly abused and considered the most dangerous.

At the end of October, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the latest statewide ban — this time on a synthetic cannabis compound called "MAB-CHMINACA," commonly referred to as Spice or Mojo. According to the state Department of Health and Hospitals, at least 125 people sought treatment at Baton Rouge hospitals for symptoms associated with this drug last month.

The problem with the laws, according to 15th Judicial Distict Judge Thomas Duplantier, is that they target specific chemicals.

"In China and (other places it's made), they change just one molecule of one chemical so it's no longer illegal," Duplantier said.

On Nov. 7, the Lafayette City-Parish Council passed a syntheic marijuana ordinance. Instead of focusing on specific compounds, however, the ordinance concentrates on how it's packaged and the way it's sold. It prohibits "the possession, provision, sale, distribution or advertising of misbranded synthetic drugs" in Lafayette and the unincorporated parts of the parish.

Duplantis thinks this approach might help abate the problem. "Anything to slow it down," he said.

What's in it?

JP Plaisance, owner of the smoke shop Burnt on the corner of General Mouton Avenue and McKinley Street, used to sell synthetic marijuana until about four years ago. The dried shreds of plant material drenched in chemicals were sold under such names as "K2" and "Yucatan Fire" and were labeled "not for human consumption."

The chemicals sprayed on the herbs are intended to produce the same effects as the THC in marijuana. But there have been horror stories about reactions to the chemicals, haunting depictions of traumatizing hallucinations and out-of-body experiences, from first-time users and frequent drug takers alike.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the dangerous side effects vary from increased heart rate to suicidal thoughts.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse says one hit can subject a person to strokes or seizures.

To Plaisance, the decision to quit selling it was easy once suppliers "started spraying chemicals all over it.

"It's poison," he said.

As the list of banned chemicals grows, packages have started listing what chemicals aren't in the product — whether it's sold as incense, potpourri or liquid — but aren't exactly forthcoming about what is.

"I don't sell anything I don't know for sure is safe or I wouldn't smoke myself," Plaisance said.

What can we do?

Capt. Dwayne Prejean of the Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force said the 18 people who were recently hospitalized exhibited strange behavior, like one who ran down a highway stripping off his shirt because he thought he saw spiders on his body. Plaisance said he watched someone fall down immediately after taking a hit and the color drain from his face as he writhed on the ground.

"It reminds me of the LSD we used to see in the 1980s," Prejean said last week.

What's appealing about the drug, though, isn't what it does but what it doesn't do, Plaisance said.

"It doesn't show up on drug tests," he said.

Prejean noted that each of the 18 hospitalized people was being drug tested weekly and under a judge's supervision.

"It gets you high, so it's seen as a good alternative if you're on parole," Plaisance said.

Duplantier believes the best way to reduce the number of kids who show up in hospitals because of synthetic marijuana is to educate parents.

He reflects on a recent case in which a normally well-behaved 15-year-old attacked a police officer and raised his voice at his parents. The product is made "so unpredictably," Duplantier said, that it's impossible to gauge how the drug will affect behavior.

"I think parents ought to be out in front of gas stations and smoke shops with picket signs saying, 'You put my kid in the hospital,'" he said.

Law enforcement has encouraged parents to conduct random room searches if they suspect their children may be taking drugs, but Plaisance said it can ultimately be stopped only by those considering whether to smoke it. The chemicals are visible upon opening the bag, often in powder form collected at the bottom, and Plaisance said that should be enough of a warning to deter someone from taking the risk.

"These suppliers are spraying chemicals on anything that burns," he said, "and it's just gotten so far out of hand."

Speaking before the council Nov. 7, Alexandria Shelton's sister applauded passage of the new ordinance. Strict enforcement, Joseph said, is imperative to prevent another person from dying.

"One death is far too many," she said, "and it makes me wonder if this tragic accident would have happened differently if she would have known all the consequences."

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