On Nov. 24, the Drug Enforcement Administration acted to temporarily control five chemicals commonly found in synthetic marijuana, popularity referred to as "Spice," making it illegal to sell or possess any product containing the chemicals after a 30-day period.
After the 30 days, these five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol) will be classified as Schedule 1 substances and testing will begin on them by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This comes after more than 2,000 public inquiries and complaints in the past year that were received by the DEA, said Barbara Carreno, spokesperson for the organization.
"We have gotten a lot of calls from the public asking when we are going to ban this," she said. "We were monitoring ... we watch these kind of things. (The temporary banning) is to see if it should be controlled permanently."
Cerrano said the Department of HHS will test the synthetic cannabinoids on human subjects over the course of a year to determine health effects and likelihood for addiction.
"They will then give us a recommendation," she said.
The Federal Analog Act allows the government to classify a substance as a Schedule 1 if it is designed to mimic the effects of an already illegal drug. Synthetic cannabinoids are marked as incense and deemed not for human consumption on the packaging.
"This is an attempt to create a defense should (legal measures) be put against them," Cerrano said.
Tempe Union High School District has banned Spice from district schools. At the Nov. 17 meeting, the board approved changes to the district policy regarding imitations of illegal drugs, including synthetic cannabis.
"Language in the definition of Drug or Alcohol violation was inserted to address imitations of illegal drugs," district spokesperson Linda Littell wrote in an e-mail. "It will also provide a safeguard against the next designated drug that is created to imitate the effects of other illegal drugs."
While the district may have control over synthetic cannabis, the DEA may be fighting a war they can't win. Although the five chemicals that were made illegal were the most common for retail synthetic cannabis, Carreno admits that it is likely that different chemicals will be created to produce a similar effect.
"There are chemists out there who are always working on it," she said.
One person who would not be disappointed if different chemicals were to make it mainstream is High Maintenance Smoke Shop owner Jason Horn. High Maintenance opened in January in Gilbert, and there is also a branch in Chandler. Horn said he had not heard about Spice before opening and was told that he would see high volume requests for Spice.
"I picked some up to test (the demand) and it sold," Horn said. "It was pretty popular right away."
Horn said that after the 30-day period, he will talk to a lawyer as well as his suppliers to determine whether his shops will continue to sell synthetic cannabis.
"The last thing I want to do is get in trouble with the law," he said.
Horn, who started smoking Spice after picking it up for his shop, said he chooses to smoke Spice instead of marijuana because one is illegal and one is not, for now at least.
"My whole thing on Spice is that there are many people interested in a legal alternative to smoking weed," he said. "I have never had any issues with it. I have been smoking it for a year, and I am the same health-wise as when I started."
The first extensive testing on synthetic cannabinoids and its effects on humans will begin after the 30-day period.
anewday23 posted at 9:43 am on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
It is blatantly obvious that prohibition just doesn't work. K2 herb has survived all these bans thus far. If people want to buy k2 smoke, it looks like they are going to have no problems doing it as there are places like, http://www.k2incense.org that have k2 incense products that aren't restricted by any current bans. I think our founding fathers would be appalled by how The Constitution is being stomped on. Let us have more respect for our individual liberties and take more personal responsibility. Parent your children, stop looking to Mommy Government to do it for you with all these ineffective and oppressive laws.
hollybug80 posted at 11:33 am on Wed, Jan 19, 2011.
Of course there should be age restrictions on k2 incense, as with tobacco and alcohol, but these bans are just another knee-jerk reaction by our Government to control what we can and cannot do. They were passing emergency bans and proclaiming danger before they even knew anything at all about it. These guys, http://www.buyk2incense.com claim to have k2 incense products that aren't restricted in any state by any current ban. So as you see, not only are these petty bans exhausting resources we don't have, they are pretty much useless! It's just going to continue to morph and the authorities are going to continue wasting time and money. People will still buy k2 incense. And so on and so on. Same old cycle.
lwolfe posted at 12:50 pm on Thu, Dec 16, 2010.
First of its kind in Arizona medical marijuana convention & expo would like to invite physicians, patients, business owners and others interested in medical marijuana issues to attend the Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo featuring educational seminars on healthcare and patient guidelines, legal and workplace issues and dispensary set-up and agriculture. The goal of the event is to answer the myriad of questions forming with regard to the Health Department guidelines being put into place. The Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo, April 14-16, 2011 Renaissance Hotel, Glendale, Arizona, is being produced by Big Truck Media Group.
“...Green Relief will bring patients, healthcare providers as well as business owners together to educate and inform in this rapidly expanding medical marijuana marketplace." Rick Ells, co-founder, Big Truck Media Group
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) December 6, 2010
The event will be held at the Renaissance Hotel & Spa in Glendale, Arizona. Three educational tracks will focus on healthcare guidelines and patient care, legal and workplace issues and dispensary set up and agriculture. The expo floor will include a dynamic blend of vendors, including consultants, delivery systems, professional services, publications, agriculture, associations, equipment and accessories catering to the medical marijuana community. Green Relief will offer a professional forum for the uninitiated, under-informed and reticent potential patients and physicians who may be unaware of medical marijuana as a potential treatment option, but who otherwise lack the understanding needed to make an educated determination on its appropriateness for their condition.
Guest speakers include inspiring leaders in the field of medical marijuana who will be addressing the challenges and opportunities that patients, healthcare providers and businesses are encountering as they adapt to the new medical marijuana marketplace. Topics will include the status of Arizona guidelines for the use, distribution and regulation of medical marijuana, dispensary how-to’s, medical card guidelines and the latest delivery systems.
Rick Ells, co-founder of Big Truck Media Group says, “Since Arizona voters passed Prop 203 in November, businesses have been scrambling to take advantage of the opportunities medical marijuana offers. Green Relief will bring patients, healthcare providers as well as business owners together to educate and inform in this rapidly expanding medical marijuana marketplace. Three educational tracks will concurrently address patients and healthcare providers, legal and legislative issues and dispensary how-to’s. Our conference is designed to provide up-to-date educational information as well as a comprehensive exposition of vendors in the medical marijuana community.”
The latest information about this conference can be found on Facebook. Search: Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo or e-mail us at lwolfe@BigTruckMediaGroup.com More about Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo
Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo offers three educational seminar tracks targeted to ease, comfort, alleviate and facilitate each attendee’s needs. This signature event offers the first of its kind in Arizona to educate and inform patients, healthcare providers and inspire businesses and entrepreneurs to the advantages of including medical marijuana in expanding their business plans. Green Relief events strive to make strong connections with like-minded individuals in the medical marijuana community.
More about Big Truck Media Group LLC
Big Truck Media Group LLC is an event production company specializing in convention and tradeshow development, production and management. Contact lwolfe@BigTruckMediaGroup.com
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lisa Wolfe
lwolfe@BigTruckMediaGroup.com
(480) 239-8849