Police: Driver Arrested in Waukesha for K2-Related OWI

Days after the Drug Enforcement Agency declared synthetic marijuana compounds such as “K2” and “Spice” as a temporarily illegal controlled substance, the Waukesha Police Department arrested a person for driving under the influence of the substance.

An off-duty deputy called police after spotting a reckless vehicle at 12:58 a.m. Wednesday at Sentry and West Sunset drives. The deputy alerted police to the erratic vehicle, and an officer pulled the car over at Oakdale and West Sunset drives, according to the police call log.

After the police officer made contact with the driver, the officer suspected the driver was under the influence of “something,” said Waukesha Police Sgt. Jerry Habanek.

“They didn’t know what,” Habanek said. “They could test for and tell that it wasn’t alcohol, but they didn’t know exactly what it was.”

The police department asked a drug recognition expert to respond to the scene to run through a series of tests. The expert went through a series of 10 tests when the driver made a confession to police that he had smoked K2, Habanek said.

“He actually admitted to being under the influence of K2, so we processed it like a normal OWI arrest,” Habanek said.

Waukesha has a ban against K2 possession as a municipal ordinance. However, with the DEA outlawing the substance and classifying it as a Schedule 1 controlled substance on March 1, the police department arrested the driver on the driver’s first offense.

“Schedule 1 means that they are illegal and there is no medical use for them,” Habanek explained.

The Waukesha Police Department contacted the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene to determine how to process the driver’s blood. Habanek said he believes it was the city’s first K2-related OWI arrest.

“It is a similar process for this OWI,” Habanek said. “They are still going to process it at that lab. But if they can’t determine whether or not K2 or any other drugs are in the blood, then they will have to send it to another lab.“

The DEA’s ban on the fake pot lasts for a year while it is awaiting a determination on whether or not to permanently ban the substance.

The compound is sprayed on potpourri leaves and, when smoked, gives users a high like marijuana. The compound is not intended for human consumption.

A news release from the DEA states that emergency room physicians have reported treating people who have used the synthetic marijuana compound for side effects that include:

• Convulsions
• Anxiety attacks
• Dangerously elevated heart rates
• Increased blood pressure
• Vomiting
• Disorientation