DEA Moves to Control Synthetic Marijuana

Since 2009 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has received an increasing number of reports from poison centers, hospitals and law enforcement regarding fake marijuana products, which resemble herbs or potpourri but mimic the effects of the drug when smoked.

On Wednesday of this week, the DEA announced that it would ban several chemicals used to make these so-called synthetic marijuana products, which include brands such as Spice, K2, Blaze and Red Dawn.

According to the DEA’s website, smokable herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and provide a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with research chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops and over the Internet. These chemicals, however, have not been approved by the FDA for human consumption and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process.

Fifteen states have already taken action to control one or more of these chemicals.

The DEA used its emergency scheduling authority to temporarily control five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexanol) in “fake pot” products. Except as authorized by law, this action will make possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the U.S. 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.

A Notice of Intent to Temporarily Control was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday to alert the public to this action. After no fewer than 30 days, DEA will publish in the Federal Register a Final Rule to Temporarily Control these chemicals for at least 12 months with the possibility of a six-month extension. They will be designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, which is reserved for unsafe, highly abused substances with no medical usage.

“The American public looks to the DEA to protect its children and communities from those who would exploit them for their own gain,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Makers of these harmful products mislead their customers into thinking that ‘fake pot’ is a harmless alternative to illegal drugs, but that is not the case. Today’s action will call further attention to the risks of ingesting unknown compounds and will hopefully take away any incentive to try these products.”