The world of synthetic drugs thrives off of accessibility and false advertising. While products are billed as “natural,” they are anything but. Chemical analyses have revealed that synthetic drugs do not contain dried plant material like their labels would suggest, but rather designer cannabinoid compounds. This Friday’s episode of Vice on HBO, “Synthetic Drug Revolution,” steps inside the market for designer drugs by speaking with “the godfather of modern synthetic drugs” at his lab in New Zealand.

According to the Vice video description, more than 100 Dallas teenagers overdosed on a synthetic drug called K2 in solely a week last spring. In August, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan declared a state of emergency after authorities linked 44 overdoses to the bubblegum-flavored drug called "Smacked." "This is the world of synthetic drugs, manmade chemical compounds often engineered to skirt narcotics laws — and some of the most frequently abused substances in American high schools," the description reads.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthetic marijuana, also known as “Spice” or “K2,” has grown in popularity among high school students. In 2012, synthetic marijuana was the one of the most commonly used illicit drugs by high school seniors, second only to marijuana. Synthetic drug manufacturers stay off the radar of authorities by using chemicals that are not easily detected by standard drug screenings.

"The makers of these drugs race to keep ahead of law enforcement by making incremental changes in the compounds’ molecular structure, even though the effects of those alterations can turn out to be dangerous," according to Vice.