those roads together and it's been a process that's been by no means fun or painless, but we're here today and that's kind of how we look at it and we look at it from the perspective of helping others. >> reporter: helping others and changing the world. the marijuana revolution is only just begun. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the following is a cnn special report. >> i don't think he's breathing at all there. >> we need somebody now. >> he started to foam at the mouth, convulsing uncontrollably. >> this is the only time we've reached out to a school system, to the university and said hey, there's this danger on the streets. >> deadly new drugs on america's streets. >> it was nothing like anything i've had before. the trees look like cauliflowers, like dancing around. >> designed to evade the law. >> once they alter that chemical, it is no longer a controlled substance.

>> and to maximize profit. >> we process, you know, $40,000 to $50,000 a month in credit card payments. >> imported into the u.s. by mail and sold online. >> he set up a large-scale drug trafficking organization by using a computer. >> that to me is scary. this stuff is not safe just because you can order it on the internet. >> most people still don't know what they are. they'll kill your kids. >> tonight, the new drug threat. a deadly high. >> 911, emergency. >> there is a kid laying on the sidewalk. he looks like he's been beat up. >> 911. >> yeah. there's a guy lying face down, looks like he's passed out, with no shoes on. >> when the officers arrived, they found mr. beard lying face down on the sidewalk. they found the other victim.

it was reported he was sitting on the grass yelling at a parked car, acting incoherently. >> on the morning of june 11th, 2012 police in grand forks, north dakota were facing a new threat on this city's streets. >> and then you found this other guy in a car. >> correct. >> naked? >> he was naked, yeah. >> the naked teenager and the young man yelling at the car would live. but police already knew the young man lying face down on the sidewalk was dead. and in the small city of grand forks they also knew who he was. >> he teared up and i didn't know what was going on. i said what's the matter? he said it's christian. i said, what? he said, he's deceased. and he just hung his head. and you know, those moments, you just don't forget them. >> christian bjerk was a star high school football player.

the police officer who came to notify his parents, keith and debbie, had been christian's youth football coach. >> it never occurred to me that it would be anything like this. and he said -- then he told me we don't know, we just found him. i said what? what do you mean? i said did somebody kill him? and he looked at me and -- we don't know, keith, i can't tell you anything. >> keith bjerk last saw his son just the night before, june 10th, 2012. it was 11:00 at night. >> he was going to run out to a gas station. he said i'll be right back. i said okay, i'll see you in the morning, son. and i gave him a hug and kiss good night. and i was watching tv on the couch. he picked me up and shook me like that, said love you, dad, i'll be right back. >> his parents would later learn that at the gas station christian ran into a friend and ended up going to a house party. his body would be found a short distance away.

what killed this healthy 18-year-old was a mystery that was about to strike this small midwest community again. >> we need an ambulance. we have a kid here who's not breathing. >> okay, where's the house? >> it's east grand forks. i don't think he's breathing at all. >> we need somebody now. >> i know. >> can you guys start cpr with him? >> it was three days before eli's birthday. >> he would be 18? >> yeah. he wanted to go to grand forks to see his cousin and spend time there with justin. >> melissa katz's son, elijah stai, was in grand forks to celebrate an upcoming birthday. he was with his foster brother, justin rippentropp. >> what were you planning that weekend? >> not a whole lot. just hang out basically. >> they would find themselves hanging out and sleeping over at the home of a cousin's boyfriend. neither had known 18-year-old adam budge, but he seemed nice. budge said he had a special

treat, a bag of chocolate that he had cooked with a white powder he said was extract from psychedelic mushrooms. >> he just gave eli and i the bag and said here you go, have fun. we just kind of started taking bites out of it and just eating it. it tasted just like chocolate. didn't taste anything bad. no chemical taste or anything. it was just chocolate. and we just ended up splitting the bag. it was nothing like anything i've had before. i was -- i was kind of scared, but i was like reassuring myself and like subconscious that it's just mushrooms, it's just mushrooms. >> it wasn't just psychedelic mushrooms. it was something much worse. and for justin it was already too late to stop what was about to happen. >> do you remember what was happening, what you were seeing? >> the trees looked like cauliflowers, dancing around. like they were stationary still but they were swaying really funny and the sidewalks were

swooping up and down like a roller coaster and the grass was shooting up to the sky and dropping back down. >> you were really tripping. >> yeah, i was like oh, my god. you know, like this is getting really intense. >> downstairs, elijah stai was beginning to convulse. >> adam was already down there with eli. he had told me that eli was going into a bad trip. and i asked him, i was like, do we need to call 911? i was like no, it's jut mushrooms. he's going to be fine. he's just going into a bad trip. >> he started to i guess foam at the mouth, yelling. i guess he was hitting his head, just convulsing uncontrollably. >> finally, the police were called. >> i started to assist with cpr. with the effects of the drugs i wasn't able to do it. his face started to contort because of the drugs. it really, really messed me up. i told him i was going to wait outside for 911 to direct them

in because i couldn't see him like that. i was -- >> he was dead. >> he was dead. yeah. >> we got the phone call that eli wasn't breathing. he was blue in the face. >> you had to call your mom. >> i called her when i went outside, waiting for 911. >> and told her? >> told her eli died. >> were you able to fully tell her why? >> no. i was ashamed of myself for failing him more or less. i felt like i'd failed him. >> justin rippentropp was a teen when elijah stai's family had taken him in, raised him as their own. >> after everything they'd done for me, and eli was laying there dead and i was alive. >> elijah suffered multiple organ failures and went into cardiac arrest, cutting the

oxygen supply to his brain. >> when i got to the hospital, doctors said that eli was brain dead. he was in the hospital for three days. he was on life support. so we had to make the call to disconnect him. >> there were now two dead. teenagers overdosing and dying from a deadly drug. and no one knew what it was or where it was coming from.

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outbreak of violent overdoses. a mystery drug on the streets had already killed two teenagers. >> we've got multiple overdoses. we've got two young men that have lost their lives. i mean, what's more serious than that? >> tim purdon is a u.s. attorney for north dakota. >> it was unprecedented. i had -- i've been u.s. attorney now for going on four years. this is the only time we reached out to a school system, to the university and said hey, there's this danger on the streets right now that people need to be aware about. >> as the emergency warnings were being issued, investigators were desperately trying to find out just what this drug was, and more importantly where it came from. >> it took lab analysis to determine the true nature of these substances. when we learned what they were, 2c-i-nbome, 2c-c-nbome, that was new to us. >> 2c-i-nbome and 2c-c-nbome are synthetic designer drugs, chemicals designed to simulate the high of the banned drug lsd.

these drugs are so potent a dose the size of a few grains of salt is enough to get high. north dakota's top federal drug prosecutor had never heard of them, and neither had christian bjerk's parents. >> i had to go to the internet and look up information on it. and i really didn't understand the whole synthetic drug. i didn't know what it was. i didn't know how dangerous they were. >> the message we got after we went on the internet was that somebody had said it was okay for these drugs to be on the street and they had been tweaked. but that's all we knew. >> synthetic lsd has been blamed for at least -- >> parents across the country are now learning the painful truth about synthetic designer drugs. >> investigators say he overdosed on a synthetic marijuana -- >> otherwise known as k-2. >> with deaths and overdoses reported almost daily.

>> poisoned a 15-year-old girl. >> 16-year-old -- >> abruptly ended at just 18 years old -- >> these drugs are being marketed and sold as legal alternatives to marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, lsd, and heroin. >> in the last four years more than 300 synthetic designer drugs with names like spice, nbomb, and bath salts have flooded into the united states. even the popular club drug molly, which is marketed as a pure form of the drug ecstasy, is being replaced by a variety of synthetic compounds. according to d.e.a. scientists, the highs may be the same but the molecular structure is modified just enough to evade the law. >> these chemical companies are altering the compound ever so slightly to avoid our laws here in the united states. once they alter that chemical, it is no longer a controlled substance. >> so it's a game. >> it is.

>> these drugs are particularly dangerous because users can't be sure what they're getting. >> we've seen packages that have the exact same label, the exact same brand, same flavoring, that are sent at the exact same time that have completely different drugs in them. >> almost every state and the federal government have passed laws outlawing specific chemical formulas sold as synthetic drugs. but the manufacturers are staying one step ahead of law enforcement. >> these chemical companies anticipate future law enforcement actions, whether it be new laws, and they have a new chemical compound that is ready to take the place of the drugs that we control. >> in the new world of drug dealing chemicals are manufactured overseas, sold online in bulk, and imported into the u.s. they are then assembled, packaged, and sold as research

chemicals, labeled "not for human consumption" to avoid prosecution. >> is there any legitimate industrial purpose for those chemicals? >> we are not aware of any legitimate industrial or medical use for these chemicals. >> you can buy synthetic drugs on hundreds of websites that say it's all legal. we did. the cost -- around $30 a packet. >> afghan black ultra. collector's item. not for human consumption is what it says on this product description. >> we sent these collector's items to cayman chemical, an analytical lab in ann arbor, michigan. >> and that's just a mathematical comparison. >> all of them contain dangerous chemicals. >> that is the tryptamine. it's a hallucinogen. >> according to greg endres only a lab test can determine what's inside. >> we found a number of substances including synthetic cannabinoids, a hallucinogenic tryptamine.

we found an amphetamine analog, all of which i would consider synthetic drugs. >> how dangerous is this from a chemical compound situation? >> quite dangerous. there's a whole range of reported effects ranging from rapid or irregular heartbeat, hallucinogenic effects, seizures, psychosis. there have been several reported suicides. >> and in grand forks, north dakota the deaths of elijah stai and christian bjerk. it turns out the drugs that killed elijah and christian arrived in grand forks by mail. purchased over the internet by a local drug dealer. >> he was one of the primary sources of supply for controlled substances in this area. >> but finding that dealer would turn out to be only the beginning in unraveling this deadly mystery which was about to take yet another turn. sowith a down payment andrs 10% financing. oh larry, lawrence.

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as police were learning more about the synthetic drugs that killed two teens in grand forks, north dakota, there was someone in that small city who was somewhat of an expert. andrew spofford, a local drug dealer, who along with marijuana and cocaine was also selling chemicals he bought on the internet. the synthetic drugs that killed christian bjerk and elijah stai came wrapped, stamped, and delivered right to spofford's door. >> he had a fairly good working knowledge of the substances, the potency of the substances, and what dosage units would be common for typical user amounts.

>> what spofford didn't know was he was getting ripped off in a crime that would set off a deadly chain of events. one of his customers, adam budge, had broken into spofford's home and stolen a bag of white powder. without knowing exactly what was inside that bag or just how potent it was. budge melted the powder into chocolate that he gave to his new friends, including elijah stai. budge also sold some of the same drug to a young man who would share it with christian bjerk. >> adam budge early on in the investigation was the common link between these two overdose victims. adam budge prepared the 2ci-nbome in some chocolates and both he and eli stai consumed some of those chocolates and eli stai died from them. >> 1,400 miles away in a suburb of houston, texas -- >> whoo. >> -- a father and entrepreneur

named charles carlton was oblivious to the fact that an unraveling chain of events in grand forks was about to turn his world upside down. >> i always kind of enjoyed the psychedelic experience. and it started with experimenting with lsd in high school. and then i started ordering, you know, what people would call designer drugs off the internet and just experimenting with those. and you know, just realized that you know, there was money to be made in, you know, distributing them in small quantities. >> carlton had an idea to turn his passion for synthetic hallucinogens into a business. he would limit his customers to those like him, knowledgeable and interested in experimenting with synthetic highs. his company, motion resources, with its website called

motionresearch, would be a boutique drug dealership for enthusiasts. >> we could put in people's hands things that they wouldn't be able to get otherwise. >> but it was turning into a real business that -- >> it was. >> -- you could at least make a go of it. >> absolutely. >> though the company's product mimicked the illegal drug lsd, carlton says the chemicals he was selling weren't yet scheduled or banned in the united states. he set up shop in this office building, even registered with the secretary of state, and went to work. >> i was an employee of my own company, getting a w-2. i mean, we had full payroll services. it was as legitimate as it could be. we knew we were walking a very fine line as far as the law was concerned. but at the time we thought we were on the right side of it. >> without so much as leaving his computer, carlton says he and his two colleagues were repackaging chemicals they

bought in bulk, filling 30 to 40 orders a day. >> it's fairly easy to find chemical suppliers. the product sells itself. generally as much of it as you can get you can get rid of pretty quickly. >> motion resources had customers in all 50 states, and profits were rolling in. >> carlton was not unlike any other drug trafficker. he's looking for the best product at the lowest price. and so he would obtain this product from the best suppliers he could find. >> what is a little different is that he was able to do all of this in the comfort of his own study in his house. >> right. >> basically, he set up this business from a computer that was hooked up to the internet. >> right. he set up a large-scale drug trafficking organization by using a computer. >> that to me is scary.

>> it is scary because of the ability to mass market their product to an enormous customer base under the guise of a legitimate business. >> carlton felt that guise of a legitimate business would hold up in court. as long as his customers agreed to the phrase stamped on every package sent out, that none of what he was selling would actually be consumed. >> so what was the phrase? >> for analytical and research purposes only. >> what would be that purpose other than to consume it and to experience the high? >> well, that's a good question. make no mistake, we knew people were consuming it. i honestly don't know how it grew so fast. but it got to the point where we'd process $40,000 to $50,000 a month in credit card payments. >> i mean, at that point you thought hey, i've got a legitimate shop running here? >> i did. >> it was all going so well. motion resources was up and

running for eight months. >> grand forks police were called to -- >> until one day carlton saw a story on the news about drug overdoses in grand forks, north dakota. >> i saw a news story where there was an overdose death in north dakota, and then pretty quickly there was a tv news report and they showed a baggie that said 25in-bome on it. and we used very specific bags. and we had a very special label maker that printed on clear labels. and it was blatantly obvious that it was ours. >> what was your immediate reaction? >> i was in shock. i have kids. you know. that's not -- we didn't want anything like that to happen.

i mean, that's the only reaction i had. i mean, i don't even know how to describe it. >> did you go to work the next day? >> well, i did. >> carlton says he didn't want to draw attention, so he continued to run motion resources as if nothing had happened. he says he was trying to sell off his supply, shut the business down. but the prosecutor says there's evidence carlton was in the process of changing the business name, allegedly to keep motion resources running. carlton admits he was sweating. with good reason. his world was about to crumble. by a betrayal on the inside. you can now use freeze it to prevent new purchases on your account in seconds. and once you find it, you can switch it right on again.

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in texas charles carlton was living in fear. he knew he had sold the drugs that killed two teens in north dakota because he shipped them to one of his clients in grand forks named andrew spofford. >> at any time along the way before the deaths did you consider i've got to stop this? >> i did. you know, it was the cause of

probably quite a few arguments between my wife and i. she didn't want to have anything to do with it, and she didn't want me to have anything to do with it. and i should have listened to her advice. >> at one point i think she destroyed your office. >> she did. >> she had had enough. >> she had. >> she knew you were doing wrong. >> she did. and so did i. >> carlton says he was becoming paranoid. he had good reason. one of his colleagues, a man named harry george mickeles, suddenly quit, and records were missing. in grand forks federal prosecutor chris meyers got a phone call that would crack the case. >> before we heard of motion resources his partner contacted our office through his lawyer and indicated to us that he could explain the entire conspiracy to us. >> mickeles would avoid prosecution. but charles carlton would not be so lucky.

and when police raided the office of motion resources and carlton's home, they found this critical piece of evidence. proof that carlton's guise of legitimacy, that his drugs were being sold for research, was all just a cover for their real purpose. in his own hand carlton was detailing how to use his drugs and just how dangerous they could be. >> it was a journal documenting these substances being used by mr. carlton and friends of mr. carlton and the effects and the various amounts of the substances and how they would affect the body. and that was powerful evidence to show that they knew full well what these substances would do and informed this company to sell them. >> carlton decided not to fight and has pled guilty to three counts -- possession with intent to distribute controlled substance analog, money laundering, and misbranding. it could send him to prison for life.

>> i can't justify anything that i did. and i don't intend to. i mean, the only thing that i hope to do is let as many people know as possible that no matter how hard you're -- you try to be safe and no matter how hard you think you -- or how well you think you have it under control somebody's going to get hurt or even die. these chemicals are so dangerous that all it takes is for someone to just have some of it and not know what they have. >> yet you did think that -- you thought you were smart enough to handle it and smart enough to think that your customers knew what the hell they were doing. >> that's right. >> he is the 15th person so far to be prosecuted under the north dakota federal drug case now called "operation stolen youth" that began with the deaths of

christian bjerk and elijah stai. andrew spofford, who bought the drugs online from charles carlton. adam budge, who got the drugs from spofford. the teen who bought the drugs from budge and shared them with christian bjerk, and several low-level dealers are all behind bars. >> fans, let's hear it one more time for all our 2011 senior athletes and trainers. >> i know exactly what he was saying to me. he was actually telling me he was hungry and he wanted to eat right after the game. he was going to go out with some friends and get a sandwich. >> and at the hearings and sentencings debbie bjerk has been there to speak about her son christian and to play this video. >> it put a human being behind the name. it's one thing to read a name on a sheet of paper that, you know, this person died. it's another thing to see actual footage of them, you know, talking, walking, being with

their family. >> she will be there when charles carlton is sentenced. >> you will, upon sentencing, see and hear from those parents. >> i will. >> undoubtedly, christian's mom is going to play that video of her son. have you thought about how you're going to handle that moment? >> i haven't. i mean, i've thought about the moment, but i haven't necessarily thought about how i'm going to handle it. >> that will be the same moment theoretically you'll have to say good-bye to your kids. >> well, it's not -- it's not the same. me saying good-bye to my kids, i'm going to be down the street. i'll be back in a little while. is completely different than the kind of good-bye they had to give to their kids. their kids aren't coming back. >> you want to go to mommy?

>> carlton's wife susan knows that even a reduced sentence means that she will raise their two young children alone. >> you will then be there to see the mothers of the two boys who died. and hear their story about their sons who are no longer here. do you hold your husband responsible for that? >> not entirely. not entirely. i can't. i hate that he was a part of this. my heart does go out to those mothers. it just simply should have never, ever happened. >> the case is about to come to a final conclusion for charles carlton.

he and his wife have arrived in grand forks and are about to head into the federal courthouse to face his fate. but with all the arrests in criminal cases, the major source of synthetic drugs remains untouched. the big fish is getting away. >> ultimately, it has to stop with the manufacturing facility over in china. >> yeah. >> and they're nothing more than industrial-grade chemicals. >> not dangerous. not poisonous. you're not at all concerned? about what now? oh, i don't know. the apocalypse? we're fine. i bundled renter's with my car insurance through progressive for just six bucks more a month. word. there's looters running wild out there. covered for theft. okay. that's a tidal wave of fire.

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there is a new drug war under way. at los angeles international the new battle is trying to intercept synthetic designer drugs. customs inspectors open and test suspicious packages, looking for what's not listed on custom forms. this package claims to contain plastic. it turns out to be bath salts, a chemically produced synthetic stimulant that mimics meth.

>> it's an analog of methalone which is a scheduled controlled substance. so this can be treated as a scheduled controlled substance. >> and it came from the country that according to the d.e.a. is manufacturing and shipping most of the synthetic drugs worldwide. >> from china. mainland china. >> it's no secret to law enforcement where it comes from. and it's no secret to drug dealers seeking to become entrepreneurs in the new world of designer drugs. >> any laboratory in china, if you send them what's called a cast number, which is -- it's just a number that's designated to essentially every chemical substance that exists, as long as it's not scheduled they will manufacture it for you specifically. it's called a custom synthesis. and ship it to you. >> charles carlton, who sold the drugs that killed elijah stai and christian bjerk, says he used the internet to buy much of

his supply in bulk from china. >> there are a lot of brokers as well. like you'll order from a guy in poland and receive a package from china. >> and is it all labeled as research chemical not for human consumption when you get it? >> for the most part, yes. >> shanghai, china's largest city. its towering waterfront and bustling streets. it is also home to chemical companies churning out synthetics, or pure poison. in the emerging global market of the synthetic drug world the shanghai region is the epicenter. >> come in. >> this is the office of a synthetic drug dealer. undercover video taken by a french documentary filmmaker of a bragging drug entrepreneur claiming to supply the world with his manufactured highs.

>> this stuff pv-8. sells popular in russian market. people take it and put in mouth or in nose. it's okay. >> this tour is a sales pitch. the undercover reporter is pretending to be a buyer. >> safe. not dangerous. not poisonous. >> this is k-2. very famous in america. not for human consumption. [ muted ] all this stuff work. you send us your design, your logo, what kind of size packing you want. we can send to you from other european countries. more safe than directly sent from china. we handle all the logistics.

if the package is lost, we resend again -- >> for free? >> for free. so that's our guarantee. i have already got $50 million from this market. so you see, we are not small ones. >> what is the u.s. doing about this? negotiating. >> when i visited china and began negotiations over a year ago with our chinese counterparts, it was about these are not under the control of china law. >> gil kerlikowske is a u.s. customs commissioner and president obama's former drug czar. he says he has been working with the chinese to ban the manufacture of synthetic drugs in china. >> and so we said, you should really consider placing these under your mandates because they're clearly being designed to harm people. >> is it enough to just ask china to do this? >> no. i think that we were very strong about the concerns. i think china recognized too

that they have a lot of chemical plants, they do a lot of export. we have to be closer in our ties and closer in our communication with them about where these drugs are coming. >> according to the u.s. drug enforcement administration, china has made some arrests and has recently banned 11 synthetic substances. cnn cannot confirm china is doing anything. for months cnn has requested visas for a cnn investigative team to travel to shanghai. there have been continuous requests by chinese officials for additional information, but the visas have not been granted. requests for an interview or comment from china's ambassador here in the u.s. have gone unanswered. >> this is the funeral for eli and -- >> alyssa katz, elijah stai's mother, doesn't understand what there is to negotiate. chinese factories are making a

fortune, she says, selling poison. >> what would you like to say to them? >> how dare you come into my country and sell drugs to our children? >> do you think they care? >> no. they don't care. >> cnn has learned the synthetic drugs that killed melissa's son, elijah, and christian bjerk were most likely made in china. and so far there appears to be no movement by the u.s. to find and prosecute the manufacturer of this synthetic poison. chris myers, the federal prosecutor in this case, will not discuss the source of the chemicals. and that is not good enough for debbie and keith bjerk. >> i would like to know the name of the factory where these drugs were manufactured. >> you don't know the name of the factory? >> no. i have not been told the name of the factory. >> do they know it? >> i'm sure they do. and i would like to -- you know,

i said what can i do? write letters, whatever. and i've been told that -- >> it's like -- >> -- it would be sort of pointless because it's legal in china. but the people over there need to know that these drugs are killing people. >> in north dakota the case that is now called "operation stolen youth" that began with the death of their son christian bjerk is heading back to federal court in fargo. the next chapter is about to unfold, where a nervous charles carlton, the federal prosecution's main target in this case, is about to be sentenced. >> i know that it's going to be a long time, and i know that i'm going to be severely punished, you know, for what i'm responsible for.

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fargo, north dakota. august 28th, 2014. it has been more than two years since christian bjerk and elijah stai died from a chemical poisoning from synthetic drugs. in a matter of hours charles carlton, the man who sold those drugs, will become the 15th and likely the last person to be sentenced in the case.

>> i know that it's going to be a long time. and i know that i'm going to be severely punished, you know, for what i'm responsible for. >> at the federal courthouse the family of christian bjerk is already heading inside. they have been at most of the hearings and sentencings to show this video and pictures of their 18-year-old son before and even after he was found dead on a grand forks sidewalk. carlton is struggling what to say to them. he is also struggling knowing he could spend the next two decades and as long as the rest of his life behind bars. >> you're nervous. >> make no mistake, it's going to completely change my life. i'll never be able to come back out and go home. to the same place i left. whether it be 10 or 20. and i am extremely nervous. and i owe an apology to so many people. and i've been grappling with how to do it.

every person in that courtroom i owe an apology to, on both sides. including this community. >> carlton's wife and parents have traveled from houston to be here. "operation stolen youth," which started with five overdoses and two deaths, has so far led to 14 defendants convicted and sentenced to a total of 101 years in prison. lives ruined because of this little powder that two years ago seemed like an innocent, safe synthetic high. prosecutor chris myers believes the exhaustive case has been a success. >> the message we have sent with this prosecution is that these are dangerous substances and hopefully that can help raise awareness and save some lives. we have two families that lost young kids. kids with promise and bright futures for no reason.

>> cameras are not allowed inside federal court. charles carlton with his wife quietly crying one row behind him is sentenced to 20 years in prison. outside court the bjerks leave for the last time. their sentence is for life. >> it's never going to be done. christian was -- he was a child. he's our flesh and blood. he's someone who was so important to us we would have given our lives for him. and you know, our job now is just to get the word out there to the rest of the people so no other families have to go through this kind of thing and to honor our son, to honor his memory. >> all the kids and young adults here today, please tell them the story -- >> since their son christian's death the bjerks have become activists, getting out the word on the dangers of synthetic drugs. thanks to their efforts north dakota has put in new legislation banning a number of

synthetics, and federally the drug that killed christian and elijah is now on the list of banned substances. >> the stuff is not safe just because you can order it on the internet. don't be fooled by that. don't put yourself and your family in the position that these families in grand forks found themselves. talk to your kids, that synthetic drugs are dangerous. all drugs are dangerous. >> this was done for the memorial for eli. his friend signed that. that came. >> the family of elijah stai say they, too, hope their son's death can be a warning to others about the dangers of synthetic designer drugs. >> our lives were turned upside down. our lives will never be the same. i don't know if you can really put something like that into words, what your life is like after you lose a kid. it's a horrific thing to ever have to go through for any

parent. eli was a good kid. this can happen to any family. >> i talk to a lot of people during the course of a day or the course of a month. and you know, if it comes up, we have this conversation, and most people still don't know what they are. they don't know what the drugs are or how badly they can impact their lives. well, we're witnessing the impact now. we've had this horrible loss. we lost a child. we didn't know about the drugs. we know about them now. and the word needs to get out there to the rest of the world that these things will -- they'll kill your kids. they're going to kill anybody who takes them. they're pure unadulterated they're pure unadulterated poison. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

authorities charge a woman with helping two convicted murderers escape a new york prison while the manhunt for the escapees continues. in australia the u.n. accuses the government of paying off smugglers to turn around a boat carrying migrants. and shia fighters turn to fallujah in the fight against isis. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm natalie allen. a new york prison worker faces up to eight