A Delaware man has been charged with trafficking in a synthetic marijuana used with electronic cigarettes that police say has landed at least four teens in the hospital. Issa Alahmad, 49, of Forest Avenue, was arrested on Thursday and faces a felony trafficking charge, a first-degree felony. He posted bond of $25,000 today and faces an initial appearance later this month.

A Delaware man has been charged with trafficking in a marijuana derivative used with electronic cigarettes that police say sent at least four teens to the hospital.



Issa Alahmad, 49, of Forest Avenue, was arrested Thursday and faces a felony trafficking charge, a first-degree felony. He posted bond of $25,000 yesterday and faces an initial appearance later this month.



Delaware police were called to Hayes High School on Oct. 8 after two 14-year-old girls reported becoming ill. Both had used "crown," a chemical derivative of marijuana.



The Delaware County sheriff's office was called to Buckeye Valley High School in September for a similar incident involving two teens. All of the students reported tremors, nausea and feeling as if their skin were on fire. A spokeswoman for the Delaware County sheriff said the teens were treated but did not have lasting effects.



Members of the Delaware County Drug Task Force and Delaware County prosecutor's office searched Alahmad's home before his arrest. They confiscated a small bottle of liquid, believed to be crown, said Tracy Whited, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.



"The only way that we've learned that crown can be ingested is through e-cigarettes," Whited said.



The drug appears to be relatively new in central Ohio.



"I haven't heard about it," said Columbus Police Sgt. Steven Knotts, who tries to keep up on the latest illicit drugs. "I haven't heard anybody talking about it."



Crown is "likely a synthetic concocted by illicit chemists to make something new to bypass the laws," said Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.



Just a handful of samples have been given to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation crime lab for analysis, said Jon Fulkerson, deputy chief counsel for the attorney general.



"You need a little bit of complicated knowledge to make it," Fulkerson said. "If you're inserting something into an e-cigarette, not knowing exactly what's in it, it's potentially very dangerous. It's not like someone handing you a can of Coca-Cola with a specific recipe."



Paul Coleman, president of the Maryhaven drug-treatment center, said he's frustrated by the ability of dealers to stay a step ahead of the law.



"The inventiveness of criminals who push drugs never ceases to amaze me," Coleman said. "The pushers have to come up with new product. But it's just the same thing repackaged. It poses the same problems and the same addictive problems."



Lawmakers have repeatedly banned the chemical structure of drugs, such as bath salts and synthetic marijuana. But street chemists routinely add an extra molecule or two to the drugs, technically changing them and circumventing the law.



"With each new variation of a drug, there are unknown and potentially dangerous consequences," said Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O'Brien.



Targeting young people makes the crime worse, Delaware Police Chief Bruce Pijanowski said in a news release. "You cannot endanger our residents, especially our children, for profit."



"We believe the intent to distribute this drug was an egregious effort to exploit predominantly young users," added Delaware County Sheriff Russell Martin. "It might be the worst form of drug dealing and one intended to impact our youth."



@DeanNarciso