Crackdown on deadly, illegal drug working in Colorado Springs

Enforcement and tough penalties are leading to a reduction of an illegal drug known as Spice, in Colorado Springs.

“The sales of Spice have dropped off dramatically, to basically nonexistent and there’s not a market for it anymore,” CSPD Sgt. Joel Kern said. “I think a combination of enforcement along with hefty fines about people selling the Spice have contributed to that.”

Jin Ju Kim, the owner of Popo Wee Mart in Colorado Springs, was ordered to pay $1 million this week for selling Spice at her shop. The Colorado Attorney General’s office says this is the highest penalty ever awarded in a Spice case in our state.

But a reduction in the use and sale of the drug isn’t enough for a Colorado Springs dad. His son was hospitalized in 2013 after using the drug.

“Knock it off, completely off. Get rid of it. We don’t need it anymore,” he said.

Spice is also known as synthetic marijuana, but it’s different than actual marijuana. It is a mixture of herbs and chemicals that gives users a high. The illegal drug has been blamed for three deaths and hundreds of hospitalizations in Colorado.