Crossover Ministries’ director and board members spoke out this week about the problem of synthetic marijuana and urged local wholesalers and retailers to stop selling it.

Crossover is an eight-month addiction recovery ministry. The outcry against the synthetic drug was made after several male Crossover class members were dismissed for its use.

Crossover’s executive director, Todd Sasser, acknowledged the recent dismissals at the group’s annual fundraising/appreciation banquet last week, including the growing problem with a readily available product marketed under the trade name “Voodoo.”

Voodoo is sold as “herbal incense” and is usually smoked by the user. This product is legal in some forms, though it provides the user a “high” similar to marijuana and other narcotics. Persons of any age may legally purchase the product. Some research has shown that products sold as “herbal” have, in fact, had very little of the listed ingredients present. Rather, they often have synthetic ingredients, according to lab tests.

There are recent indications of Voodoo becoming a more prevalent problem in Covington County – and the action taken at Crossover reinforces this perception.

Sasser said, “The Board and employees of Crossover urge our retailers to stop the sale of the product, and we urge our wholesalers to stop the distribution of Voodoo and similar products. And, as importantly, we call on our legislators to pass legislation making these products illegal!

“The fact that this product is legally sold doesn’t make it acceptable,” Crossover board members said in a statement released Wednesday. “We strongly oppose having this in our communities, and we will fully support efforts by local leadership to have it banned. We encourage swift action by the legislature.

“In the mean time, we hope to see businesses take responsible steps and remove the product from their shelves,” the statement said.

Crossover provides a disciplined residential environment for men and women, with the goal that our communities and families can welcome back graduates who are free from addictions, and traveling in a new spiritual direction.