BONNEVILLE COUNTY - $19.99, that's all it costs to get high-legally. Black Mamba, or also known as K-2 or Spice is sold at the Country Corner, right behind the Kit Kat bars and next to the cigarettes. It's a synthetic marijuana drug addicts could use as a legal substitute.
"If I didn't go through the treatment that I went through and I was addicted to marijuana, I would have smoked Black Mamba for a substitute," says former drug addict Kelly Kenrid.
Former drug abuser Kelly Kenrid, admits the legality of Black Mamba is dangerous, especially for those already smoking marijuana. Now they can get high without paying a fine and because it contains no THC, it doesn't show up in drug tests.
You can purchase the incense on the Internet, three grams for $49.99. The website
www.blackmambaspice.com indicates Black Mamba comes from a plant called Damiana, which according to this site, has been used for thousands of years in Latin America cultures as a sexual stimulant. The site claims Black Mamba grows in Mexico, California, and Texas. It acts as an anti-depressant and stimulates circulation to help with fatigue and even weight loss.
"It is kind of scary, because anybody can get ahold of it, it is scary for underage people," says Kenrid.
One high school student, who chose not to be on camera, admitted he's heard of the drug and has friends who've smoked it.
"Why would it be legal compared to marijuana?" I asked him. "Because it has no THC in it, so it gives you the same effects, but they are not as intense," says the anonymous high school student.
"Whether it's legal or not it's still a drug and it alters your mind and to an addict it's still addictive, and anything that alters your mind is going to be addictive to an addict," explains Kenrid.
If you want to read more about Black Mamba, click on the Newslinks section at the top of this page.
Keep in mind, KIDK is not trying to promote the drug, just taking action for you, that's what we do, informing you as a parent and a community.