On Oct. 2, students in grades 9-12 were fortunate to hear from David and Yvette Burnett, a couple from Fayetteville, Ga. who lost their 16-year-old son, Chase, to synthetic marijuana (commonly known as "Spice" or "K-2") in March. A good student and athlete with many friends, Chase had only smoked Spice a handful of times when he lost his life.
"Darlington remains committed to taking a proactive approach in educating our students about the importance of making healthy decisions," said Matthew Peer, director of student life. "We truly appreciate the Burnetts for coming here to share their heartbreaking story. Their message was that this can happen to anybody -- your best friend, your brother, your sister or you -- so we all need to think about the choices we make."
Chase was a sophomore honor student and junior varsity soccer player at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City. He loved extreme sports and had a zest for life, family and friends. Friendly and outgoing, he never met a stranger and made everyone feel special. His mother describes him as a good kid who was very responsible. But on March 4, 2012, he was found dead in a hot tub at his parents' Fayette County home after smoking "Spice."
"Chase made a wrong choice when he decided to smoke synthetic marijuana," Yvette said. "If he knew the devastation that his choice would have on his family, loved ones and friends, I know he never would have done it. Please think about the consequences of your actions and make good decisions."
Since their son's death seven months ago, the Burnetts have fought to make all forms of synthetic marijuana illegal in Georgia. Chase's Law (SB370) was signed March 27, specifically outlawing AM-2201, which was found in Chase's system. The Burnetts continue to fight and petition lawmakers to expand the definition of "synthetic marijuana" within the law so that all forms of this man-made substance can be deemed illegal.
"Chemists working for these synthetic marijuana distributors continue to circumvent the law by tweaking the molecular structure of the substance that is sprayed on the grass," David said.
In fact, this summer the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy had to issue three emergency rulings reclassifying altered compounds as illegal narcotics.
"I have done a lot of research on this stuff," David continued. "The people who make it are using all kinds of man-made chemicals -- many times, completely different ingredients than what is on the packaging. You don't know how this stuff is going to interact with your body. Please think about that and make healthy choices."
