Synthetic Drugs Still Posing Threat [AUDIO]

On the same day of a national crackdown that hit more than half of the United States, New Jersey's top drug law enforcers pointed to the continued threat of synthetic drugs in the Garden State.

These designer drugs, such as bath salts and marijuana blends like K2 and Spice, have been banned for a while but manufacturers attempt to get around the law by fiddling with their formulas and developing new chemical mixtures.

"Chemists overseas, mainly in China and India, are producing these synthetic drugs," said Timothy McMahon with the New Jersey division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "When you hear synthetic, it means man-made."

McMahon said the worst attribute of synthetic drugs is that a user typically has no idea what he or she is consuming. The effect of the drug on the first try could be completely different from the second attempt.

"They can be purchasing it this week, go back to the same location in two (to) three weeks to buy the same brand, and it could be a completely different chemical makeup," McMahon said.

Stores in New Jersey have been advised that the synthetic products are illegal and should be taken off the shelves, but not every retail location has followed those rules.

Hundreds of search and arrest warrants related to synthetic drugs were served in dozens of states, including New Jersey, on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, authorities seized hundreds of thousands of individual packets of synthetic drugs, along with cash and products used to make the drugs.