Synthetic Marijuana Facing Emergency Controls

Cracking down on the brisk sale of synthetic marijuana, typically marketed as incense, the federal government initiated emergency action at the close of November to temporarily control five chemicals used to make various fake pot products.

These products are sold for about $10 to $20 a gram on the Internet, in drug paraphernalia shops and right here in many of Citrus County’s convenience stores to a growing number of teens and young adults.

Action taken by the Drug Enforcement Administration will make possessing and selling these chemicals, or the products that contain them, illegal in the United States for at least one year while the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services further study whether these chemicals and products should be permanently controlled.

The agency acted after receiving an ever-increasing number of alarming reports from poison control centers, hospitals and law enforcement agencies about users experiencing overdoses, seizures, hallucinations, addiction, even suicide.

Gail TierneyGail TierneyThose who manufacture the fake pot blends, with names like "Spice," "K2," "Blaze" and "Red X Dawn," label the mixtures as incense in an effort to conceal their intended purpose. The recent action taken by the DEA was the fastest way to get these products off the legal market.

Disturbingly, there already are indications that the producers of these blends are working to reformulate their products by using chemicals that aren’t covered by the impending ban.

Synthetic marijuana, described as smoke-able plant leaves coated with research chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in real marijuana, has been the target of lawmakers and law enforcement agencies across the country and around the world. At least 15 states, although not Florida, have moved to regulate or ban one or more of the chemicals, as have certain countries in Europe and Scandinavia.

As of late September, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported receiving more than 1,500 calls from 48 states and the District of Columbia about products spiked with these chemicals.

The DEA first became aware of synthetic marijuana in late 2008, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection analyzed "Spice." In many cases, the chemicals used are produced overseas and shipped to the United States. In early 2010, U.S. Customs seized a more-than-110-pound shipment of two of the chemicals.

According to DEA officials, the makers of these harmful products mislead their customers into thinking that “Spice” or “K2” is a harmless alternative to illegal drugs, which isn’t the case. The feds are counting on these recently enacted emergency controls to call further attention to the risks of ingesting unknown compounds, plus take away any incentive to try these products.

It’s critical that parents act today and talk with their children about the harms of drug use, and that includes synthetic marijuana products.

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