AfterGlow
Bluelighter
By Jessica Fender
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/01/2011 02:35:04 PM MST
Updated: 03/01/2011 03:46:29 PM MST
Synthetic marijuana is a difficult drug to track, since chemists can simply tweak the formula to avoid DEA bans and drug screenings. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
As anticipated, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that five variations of synthetic marijuana - sometimes called Spice - have been added to its list of illegal drugs.
The chemicals in synthetic pot are created in laboratories to produce effects similar to marijuana plants but remain different enough on a molecular level to escape detection in urine tests.
The formulas are then sprayed on smokable, organic materials that are ultimately sold in head shops as "incense."
The DEA's emergency order makes possessing or selling products containing any of five popular chemical recipes for Spice illegal for the next 12 months.
"Young people are being harmed when they smoke these dangerous 'fake pot' products and wrongly equate the products' 'legal' retail availability with being 'safe,'" said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart in a statement.
The DEA listed the chemical compounds under Schedule 1, the most restrictive classification. The agency and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department continue to look at whether Spice should be permanently banned.
Long before the restrictions became final, head shops in Colorado began selling varieties of Spice that claim to use different chemical recipes than those banned by the DEA.
Colorado lawmakers are working to close that loophole.
Senate Bill 134 in most cases would ban any chemical that interacts with the brain in the same way that traditional marijuana does.
The legislation, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, is scheduled for its first hearing March 9 in the chamber's judiciary committee.
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DEA bans chemicals used for 'fake pot'
Published: March. 1, 2011 at 5:28 PM
WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A federal agency said Tuesday it is putting restrictions on five chemicals used to make "fake pot" products to prevent a public health threat.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it was using its emergency scheduling authority to control five chemicals -- JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexanol -- used in making the products.
"Except as authorized by law, this action makes possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the United States," the DEA said in a statement. "This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety. The temporary scheduling action will remain in effect for at least one year while the DEA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services further study whether these chemicals should be permanently controlled."
The agency said a final order describing the move was published Tuesday in the Federal Register.
"Emergency room physicians report that individuals that use these types of products experience serious side effects which include: convulsions, anxiety attacks, dangerously elevated heart rates, increased blood pressure, vomiting and disorientation," the DEA said.
The DEA said the chemicals are now designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. "Schedule I substances are reserved for those substances with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use for treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision," the DEA said.
The statement said during the past couple of years "smokeable herbal products marketed as being 'legal' and as providing a marijuana-like high, have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults. ... Brands such as 'Spice,' 'K2,' 'Blaze' and 'Red X Dawn' are labeled as herbal incense to mask their intended purpose."
At least 16 states have taken steps to control one or more of the chemicals.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republic
link
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/01/2011 02:35:04 PM MST
Updated: 03/01/2011 03:46:29 PM MST
Synthetic marijuana is a difficult drug to track, since chemists can simply tweak the formula to avoid DEA bans and drug screenings. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
As anticipated, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that five variations of synthetic marijuana - sometimes called Spice - have been added to its list of illegal drugs.
The chemicals in synthetic pot are created in laboratories to produce effects similar to marijuana plants but remain different enough on a molecular level to escape detection in urine tests.
The formulas are then sprayed on smokable, organic materials that are ultimately sold in head shops as "incense."
The DEA's emergency order makes possessing or selling products containing any of five popular chemical recipes for Spice illegal for the next 12 months.
"Young people are being harmed when they smoke these dangerous 'fake pot' products and wrongly equate the products' 'legal' retail availability with being 'safe,'" said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart in a statement.
The DEA listed the chemical compounds under Schedule 1, the most restrictive classification. The agency and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department continue to look at whether Spice should be permanently banned.
Long before the restrictions became final, head shops in Colorado began selling varieties of Spice that claim to use different chemical recipes than those banned by the DEA.
Colorado lawmakers are working to close that loophole.
Senate Bill 134 in most cases would ban any chemical that interacts with the brain in the same way that traditional marijuana does.
The legislation, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, is scheduled for its first hearing March 9 in the chamber's judiciary committee.
link
DEA bans chemicals used for 'fake pot'
Published: March. 1, 2011 at 5:28 PM
WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A federal agency said Tuesday it is putting restrictions on five chemicals used to make "fake pot" products to prevent a public health threat.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it was using its emergency scheduling authority to control five chemicals -- JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexanol -- used in making the products.
"Except as authorized by law, this action makes possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the United States," the DEA said in a statement. "This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety. The temporary scheduling action will remain in effect for at least one year while the DEA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services further study whether these chemicals should be permanently controlled."
The agency said a final order describing the move was published Tuesday in the Federal Register.
"Emergency room physicians report that individuals that use these types of products experience serious side effects which include: convulsions, anxiety attacks, dangerously elevated heart rates, increased blood pressure, vomiting and disorientation," the DEA said.
The DEA said the chemicals are now designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. "Schedule I substances are reserved for those substances with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use for treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision," the DEA said.
The statement said during the past couple of years "smokeable herbal products marketed as being 'legal' and as providing a marijuana-like high, have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults. ... Brands such as 'Spice,' 'K2,' 'Blaze' and 'Red X Dawn' are labeled as herbal incense to mask their intended purpose."
At least 16 states have taken steps to control one or more of the chemicals.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republic
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