JOLIET, Ill. (STMW) – Will County officials are warning parents to be on the lookout for a drug that could harm their children.

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The drug is known as K2, spice or train wreck, and it’s most commonly found in smoking form, said Julie McCabe-Sterr, coordinator of the Will County Drug and Mental Health Court.

The drug is available at some stores now because federal and state authorities only recently agreed it should be banned, she explained at Thursday’s Will County Board meeting. A new state law banning K2 goes into effect Jan. 1.

The drug mimics the effect of marijuana and is made from a synthetic cannabinoid. Manufacturers use a natural herb as the base, but then they spray on the chemical drug, she explained.

McCabe-Sterr urged area residents to boycott stores that sell the products and to let store owners or managers know why.

State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow urged residents to call his office if they see the drug being sold after Jan. 1.

One of the problems with the drug is the formula that creates it can be changed to skirt the language in the law, Glasgow added. State officials are working to modify the law to counter this problem, he said.

“It’s sold as an incense, but that’s not what it is,” he warned.

McCabe-Sterr said it also can be sold in flavors and in powdered or atomizer formulas.

McCabe-Sterr said the drug is widespread and there is a lot of information about it on the Internet.

“If you Google K2 you will find literally hundreds of (Web) sites,” she said.

Some kids are hallucinating on the drug, others get agitated or paranoid, she said. When the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency banned it, that was the first time the agency banned a drug since 2003, she said.

McCabe-Sterr said the county will compile a list of stores selling the drug after the first of the year so the DEA can seize it.

To report K2 sightings in the new year, call the state’s attorney’s office at 815-727-8453 and ask for chief investigator Dave Margliano.

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