It’s a synthetic drug that’s becoming more and more popular. IZMS come in a package you can buy for ten to twenty dollars a packages.

People roll, and smoke the herb-like substance to get what some call a "legal high."

Stacey Bader works at Envirohemp, a store that carried the product not long ago, but has stopped carrying the packages.

“They made it sound like it was a good thing,” Bader says, “but I personally said I'm not trying that. it sounds too weird for me, and it ended up getting really popular and I noticed that a lot of younger people were buying it.”

She says many young people think it’s legal and that’s why they choose to buy IZMS.

However when it comes to the law there is some debate over just how legal IZMS are.

“It falls under a direct similar synthetic of marijuana,” says Det. Roger Desrochers with the Toronto Police Drug Squad. “Marijuana is actually captured under schedule 2 of the CDSA or the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, and any similar drug or product that mimics the same characteristics of a drug are themselves illegal.”

But the CEO of Purepillz, Adam Wookey, disagrees with the police interpretation of what’s legal. His company sells these synthetic drugs online and in convenience stores.

“You have to have drug laws be specific you can't have people wondering whether what they are doing is unlawful or not - in this case the ingredients are not listed,” Wookey says, “They are claimed to be captured with some extremely vague wording of the law, but that's just not the way drug laws work… if they want to make something illegal they add it, and if it's not there then it's not illegal.”

Health Canada says these products contain, "synthetic cannabinoids and (are) included in the schedule ii to the controlled drugs and substances act. Activities such as sale and possession of these products are prohibited."

But not everyone agrees, including some lawyers who handle criminal and drug cases.

According to Ron Marzel, a Toronto based lawyer, the legal status of isms is unclear because, "no court has ever ruled on their legal status.” He goes on to say "it is unlikely that Health Canada will be able to establish the existence of any molecular similarity..."    between marijuana which is a controlled drug and these new synthetic drugs.

But police are already cracking down on convenience stores that carry the product.

“We've found that they are readily available in variety stores and we've taken steps to eradicate that” says Derochers. But he says the bigger challenge is that people who make and distribute synthetic drugs, often change the formula to skirt around the law.

“Really the changing of the compound just to stay ahead of the lab work doesn't chance the fact that's it's a controlled substance,” says Derochers.

Detective Desrochers says the marketing of IZMS is also misleading because the packaging attracts a younger buyer. He says it so similar to candy wrapping a buyer could easily be deceived.

But Wookey , who's company sells IZMS, says the packaging is irrelevant. and his sales reps tell store owners to keep IZMS out of sight.

“The packages are behind the counter they're not available,” says Wookey. “Kids can't see them and even if kids did want it they can't get it unless they show their id and are over 18.”

Wookey admits though it is hard to police who is buying the drug online.

“Online is difficult … we are looking at getting age verification where you have to enter your id but unfortunately with products online it's harder to regulate that.”

The question of legality may not be settled until arrests involving IZMS make their way to court.

For now IZMS are still easy to get.  Brandon White likes IZMS as a substitute for marijuana.

“If you can't get weed at that point in time, always get them it will help until you can get weed,” says White.

Still, others remain skeptical about the safety of synthetic drugs.

“You don't even know what is in it what chemicals where it came from. I would rather smoke a little bit of something grown in the bush then that personally,” says Bader.

In Part 3 of The High Life, Katherine Ward will take a look at the new drug message to kids and why it’s not just say no anymore.