The drug is called FUBINACA, and it’s what’s known as a synthetic cannabinoid, a molecule designed in a lab to target the same parts of the nervous system affected by tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. Underground chemists have been making drugs like it since the early 2000s, when recreational marijuana was still criminalized in the United States and synthetic cannabinoids began catching on as cheap, quasi-legal alternatives. From their powdered form, they’re typically dissolved into solvents, which are then sprayed onto plant shreds to be sold, with a wink, as incense or potpourri. “Not for human consumption,” the label may read—a dodge against regulation.