Authorities are working with lawmakers to tackle potent, synthetic drugs that mimic the high of marijuana, cocaine or methamphetamine as the popularity of the substances surges in Hawaii and on the mainland.

Law enforcement officials will discuss the dangers of synthetic drugs like K2, Spice and Bath Salts next month at the Leeward Discovery Fair/Celebrate Safe Communities Day.

Over the past several years, the popularity of synthetic drugs has grown nationwide, especially among the military and youth, said Keith Kamita, deputy director of law enforcement of the state Department of Public Safety.

"It’s wreaking havoc everywhere," he said in an interview.

Law enforcement officials have been working with the staffs at hospitals and holding community meetings statewide to educate the public about the drugs’ devastating effects.

"A lot of parents don’t know what they are," Kamita said. "They don’t know how the kids are using it. They might be telling their parents, ‘It’s just air freshener.’"

In synthetic cannabinoids, a mixture of plant material is sprayed with a synthetic chemical similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but more potent. They are sold under names like K2 and Spice.

Synthetic cathinone, marketed as Bath Salts, mimics the effects of Ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The synthetic drugs are smoked, snorted or ingested. Effects include seizures, hallucinations and paranoia.

Kamita said the substances cannot be detected in drug tests. They sell for about $35 per packet and the packaging is purposely mislabeled "not for human consumption" to avoid suspicion.

Violence has been linked to synthetic drug use in a number of cases.

In April 2010, a Schofield Barracks soldier assaulted his girlfriend and attempted to throw her off an 11th-floor balcony in Waikiki after he smoked Spice. He said in court he didn’t remember what happened.

In November 2010, a 21-year-old man in Louisiana slit his throat with a knife after he experienced hallucinations brought on by Bath Salts. He survived, but paranoia set in and he fatally shot himself in the head with a rifle, according to an account on the Public Broadcasting Service’s website.

In a July 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center, experts predicted an increase in the abuse of synthetic cathinones sold under names such as Ivory Wave and Blizzard.

Synthetic cannabinoids and cathinone have been found at gas stations, convenience stores and tobacco shops as well as online, Kamita said. Manufacturers also reformulate the chemical compound in the drugs to circumvent the law against possession.

Authorities and the Legislature in Hawaii have been working together to ban the products.

In April, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a law to include synthetic cannab­inoids and cathinones as Schedule 1 controlled substances, making it illegal to distribute, market or possess those type of drugs. The new law takes a blanket approach in the scheduling of the drugs in an effort to prevent manufacturers from modifying the chemical formula to make them uncontrolled compounds, according to a report by Kamita.

However, two months after the new law was signed, law enforcement officers discovered new synthetic cannabinoids being sold in Hawaii under such trade names such as Sexy Zombie, Hysteria Black and Black Sabbath, Kamita said. On Oct. 7, a new family of synthetic cannabinoids was added to the section of the state’s Schedule 1 controlled substances.

Last week, law enforcement officers on Kauai seized alleged synthetic substances and drug paraphernalia from the Dream Electronics Cigarettes shop in Lihue. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, according to a county spokeswoman.