Probe Of Boy's Leap Off Willow Grove Mall Garage Points To 'Synthetic' Drug Use
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) -- On top of the Willow Grove Park Mall garage, a group of four teenagers were hanging out before closing on Wednesday night, when police say two of them likely started smoking a type of synthetic marijuana called "Fusion." Police say that one of the teenagers hallucinated, then ran full speed out of a car and jumped off the third floor of the garage.
Police say he remains in the hospital in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries.
The 16-year-old, who remains in the hospital in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries, attends Upper Moreland High School and had just wrapped up the school year.
"We heard that he was hallucinating," said Kaitlyn Flanagan, a student at Upper Moreland H.S., "but we didn't hear what he was on."
Police say the synthetic marijuana may have been dipped in embalming fluid, known as "wet," to make it more potent.
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Synthetic marijuana is part of a group of new and potentially dangerous drugs that are for the most part legal, like the stimulant known as bath salts. Ironically, the Commonwealth has recently been working to outlaw the drugs, but police say that until they do, smoking them isn't a crime.
"Any kid looking for an escape can find it," said Nina Maile, a parent and coach. "It's a friend away, a phone call away, a hand shake, a text message. Kids can get their hands on it."
Police say no one will face charges for the injuries the teen suffered, but they also say his story is a warning about dangers of synthetic drugs.
"Synthetic is a real misnomer," said Montgomery County district attorney Risa Ferman earlier today, "because when we all think of the word synthetic — synthetic drugs — we think, well, if they're synthetic they're not real, which means they can't be dangerous. And that's just a real fake-out because these things are dangerous."
Meanwhile, Governor Tom Corbett is expected to sign a bill outlawing synthetic drugs sometime today.
Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio; Oren Liebermann, CBS3
