by Marcus Washington
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - They've been illegal for months, but a spike in synthetic drug use is creating more addicts and causing more problems for police and court systems. Now one local rehab director wants to change the law.
Becoming a drug addict is not what folks expected from self-proclaimed nerd Dylan Evans, who actually skipped the 10th grade.
"By the end of my senior year I had gotten a full scholarship to MTSU for academics," said Evans.
During the first semester of his freshman year Dylan was introduced to the synthetic drug known as plant food.
"A friend of mine had come over and he was on it and it kind of scared me the way he was acting. I didn't want any part of it. He had asked me and I said, 'no,'" said Evans.
He said one day later when he saw the same synthetic drug sold in a nearby convenience store he bought it, tried it and was instantly hooked.
"I had these $5000 bonds that I kept in the bank. Little did my family know I was using them on these drugs and that was gone in the course of 5 months," said Evans.
For nine months he was addicted to plant food and spending hundreds of dollars a week on the drug.
Rutherford County Drug Court director Mary Schneider said she sees more and more cases like Evans every day.
"They're addicts and they think it's legal and they don't know what they are getting into," said Schneider.
She said the problem is growing but police officers have their back against the wall in the fight.
"They just don't have the power to do anything significant. It is a misdemeanor," said Schneider. "You arrest them, they go away and then they come back."
After seeing what was being done in Michigan, Schneider presented the idea to make using and selling of synthetic drugs like bath salts and plant food a felony.
Next week, she and several others will make their case to Rutherford County lawmakers. They hope those elected officials will introduce a bill in the state legislature next session.
The law that won't necessarily end the problem, but the fear of a felony could keep some like Dylan away from the drug.
There was recently a massive raid of 36 stores in Rutherford County that sell the synthetic drugs.
The assistant district attorney said they are looking to prosecute the people who were arrested during a hearing next month.
