Drugs focus of crime-prevention seminar

Drugs focus of crime-prevention seminar

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii authorities gathered at a crime-prevention seminar where the prominent focus was on more potent marijuana and synthetic drugs that one official called dangerous and odorless.

Speakers at the event held at Kauai Memorial included Chief Keith Kamita of the state Department of Public Safety’s narcotics enforcement division, The Garden Island (http://is.gd/enmg0S) reported.

“People ask why are we so worried about marijuana when we have a meth problem?” Kamita said at the Friday seminar. His answer: Today’s marijuana has a much higher level of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, than it did in the past.

Kamita also warned about the THC liquid extraction process that produces a liquid that is 100 percent THC. The resulting oil is dangerously potent, he said.

People are using the oil is an almost odorless method to smoke marijuana in public, he said.

“They can smoke it anywhere and it’s going to be the behavior we have to watch out for,” he said.

Spice drugs and other synthetic cannabinoids also present a powerful threat. Manufacturers try to skirt the law by spraying the chemicals onto potpourri and other non-edible products with labels that say they are not intended for human consumption, according to Kamita.

About 40 people attended the event, which was organized by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce.

“This is a partnership between business and government,” chamber president Randy Francisco said. “The prosecuting attorney and the police cannot do it all.”