Anchorage police say at least 30 people have been taken to the hospital over the past four days with health problems stemming from the use of a synthetic drug called Spice.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports that Police released a statement Wednesday asking people to contact them with any information about the source of the drug, which is banned by local and state laws.
Spice was once sold in gas stations and convenience stores and marketed as incense or potpourri. In 2010 the Anchorage Assembly outlawed the designer drug based on its composition, but manufactures quickly changed agreements.
The Assembly passed a new law that banned Spice based on its packaging and a list of labeling criteria in 2014. Later that year, a similar statewide ban went into effect.
