ATLANTA -- It looks like potpourri, but is smoked like pot; according to kids that are smoking it feels just like marijuana but even stronger.

It's a legal herb found at local smoke shops and gas stations marketed under names like K2, Sunset Gold and Nirvana.

Channel 2 Action News investigated and found the incense at several local smoke shops. "We sold 25 packs today of this. It flies!," one sales clerk said.

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WEB EXTRA: 'Legal' Pot

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The packaging describes the herb as "not for human consumption," but that has not deterred those looking for a legal and undetectable high.

Dr. John Huffman a Research Chemist with Clemson University in South Carolina says, "It has the effects of THC, but it's about ten times more potent." One of Dr. Huffman's students discovered a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, while studying the effects of pharmaceuticals on the brain. "Then, somehow people got the bright idea of spraying this onto or fixing it with plant material and smoking it," he says, "I don't feel responsible for the misuse of a substance that was designed for research, you're dealing with an unknown substance, it's a little bit akin to playing Russian roulette."

Since synthetic THC is so new, there is no research on it's toxicity and potential to harm smokers. Some doctors have reported users suffering from hallucinations, vomiting and even seizures.

Drug counselor Dr. Robert Margolis of Solutions Outpatient Program in Roswell, told Channel 2 Action News a number of his patients have used the drug. He said, "This is easy to obtain, if you have the money and secondly it's not detectable in a drug screening. It is addictive, it's a dangerous drug and lastly we don't know what the long term affects are going to be."

Several counties across the nation have taken steps to ban K2 and similar drugs. Georgia state senator Ed Harbison told Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan that he may consider calling for the same. "I think it's a looming menace and we're going to have to deal with it one way or another," Harbison said.