Two men were charged with trafficking and placed in the Covington County Jail on a $270,000 bond Friday, after a K9 unit found 75 grams of synthetic marijuana.

River Falls Police Chief Greg Jackson and K9 Juree made a stop for a traffic violation on U.S. Hwy. 84 on Friday.

During the stop, K9 Juree alerted to the presence of narcotics and the subsequent search revealed around 75 grams of synthetic marijuana.

Terrance Hatcher, 25, of Georgiana, and Bryson Lewis, 27, of Indiana, were charged with drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Each has a $270,000 bond.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthetic cannabinoids refer to a growing number of man-made, mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked (herbal incense) or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices (liquid incense).

These chemicals are called cannabinoids because they are related to chemicals found in the marijuana plant. Because of this similarity, synthetic cannabinoids are sometimes misleadingly called “synthetic marijuana,” and they are often marketed as “safe,” legal alternatives to that drug. In fact, they may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, severe or even life-threatening.