Synthetic marijuana has become more abused by the nation's high school students, according to a new university report.
The report made up by the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland, College Park revealed synthetic marijuana was ranked in the top three abused substances by teenage students.
The drug is made up of a blend of herbs that when combined and smoked mimics the active ingredient in marijuana. After alcohol and regular marijuana, the synthetic variety is the most abused substance, Baltimore Sun reports.
Alcohol and marijuana were reportedly used by 57 percent and 39 percent of students in grades nine through 12. Nearly 12 percent of students allegedly use synthetic marijuana, which is more than those who use cocaine, ecstasy, and prescription pain pills.
"It's a significant portion of young people, and we're just beginning to create a strategy to deal with this," Wish said. "And as marijuana becomes more and more openly used in our society for medicine, it's likely that kids will go ahead and buy something they think is marijuana, without realizing how dangerous these news substances can be."
The synthetic cannabis also known as "Spice" or "K2" has been a challenge to crack down on, even after President Barack Obama signed a ban on the synthetic drug.
The report concluded by saying, "In reality, youth who report using synthetic marijuana likely have no idea what specific synthetic cannabinoid they are using or what the effects will be."
At least 40 states have banned the sale and distribution of synthetic cannabinoids. Others are considering similar proposed measures.
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