Advertisement Special Report: New street drugs spreading across South Florida New street drugs defy law enforcement, parents Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The latest recreational drug rage -- e-cigarettes -- is a legal, vaporized way to get a nicotine hit.But now, those same e-cigs are being used as a stoner’s best friend: an undetectable way to get a super and potentially dangerous high from the latest street drugs. And because there’s no tell-tale smell, users can get high right in public without anyone being the wiser.MOBILE/TABLET USERS: Watch our Special Report “It’s also much more potent, so it doesn't take as much,” said one user to WPBF 25 News.He said lots of teens and young adults are using these stronger, newer drugs in e-cigarettes, drugs called dabs, wax or budder. Made from marijuana or hash oil, the concentrated substances deliver a powerful high.“It’s getting more and more popular all the time, especially with all the younger kids,” he said.“It’s very potent, without a doubt,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.Bradshaw said he’s concerned. Despite a recent law enforcement crackdown on synthetic marijuana and bath salts, dealers now have switched to using pot, hash and explosive butane gas to extract a highly potent, THC-rich oil or wax that can be smoked in a bong, a special device, an e-cigarette, or can blow up a lab.That’s what police say caused a Boca Raton house explosion in May. Two suspects seen on home surveillance video running from the blast were later arrested. In addition to the fear of explosions, what also worries Bradshaw is how potent a hit the marijuana or hash oil gives. Normal pot has about 15percent THC, dabs deliver a mind-numbing 80 percent pure THC high.“It’s almost an impossibility to stay ahead of the curve on it,” said Bradshaw, referring to the constant influx of new drugs.And then there’s kratom: a legal substance often served at kava bars and enjoyed by teenagers.“I wish I’d had more awareness about it, that it was a deadly drug,” said Linda Mautner. Mautner said it was kratom addiction that drove her 20-year-old college student son Ian to kill himself in despair last July. Special Report: Heroin epidemic plaguing Delray Beach“It’s very much like heroin and for my son it meant wicked side effects, wicked withdrawals from this,” said Mautner.Mautner got Ian into rehab but he kept going back to kratom. She said other parents she’s spoken to haven’t even heard of it.“I think that parents have no awareness, it’s just happening so fast and it’s so elusive the way it’s taking place,” said Mautner.Bradshaw agreed parents need to know about these latest ways to get high, both legal and illegal. More Than Meth: Faces of Drug Arrests“Those are the things we're seeing on the street that are the most dangerous and in large quantities,” said Bradshaw, referring to kratom, marijuana oil and synthetic marijuana.Mautner said she is making it her mission to alert other parents and the government of what she sees as a dangerous wave of legal substances with devastating results.She has lobbied the Palm Beach County and Broward County commissions to ban kratom.“The loss of my son has been horrific, just horrific,” said Mautner.MORE: History of America's war on drugs