The Drug Enforcement Administration is taking action against the “fake pot” market, imposing an emergency ban of at least a year on five chemicals that have been sprayed on smokable herbs to mimic the effects of marijuana.
Fake pot, often carrying the brand names “Spice” and “K2,” has been legally sold over the Internet, and in smoke shops, convenience stores and other retail outlets. The herbs in the products are commonly coated with what the DEA called “synthetic cannabinoids” to create what feels, for smokers, like a marijuana high.
In a regulatory notice, the agency said the chemicals, used alone or to spike other substances, “have the potential to be extremely harmful due to their method of manufacture and high pharmacological potency.”
The U.S. military and at least 18 states already have banned the chemicals, citing fears that the use of fake pot is spreading among young people. According to a story last year by USA Today, “The herbs, which sell for as much as $35 an ounce, have emerged as a popular, legal alternative to marijuana among teenagers and college students.”
The DEA reported a dramatic surge in calls to poison control centers around the country related to fake pot since a year ago. In all, more than 2,700 such calls were logged by the end of 2010.
Four retailers in Minnesota already have filed a lawsuit to block the ban, arguing that the DEA has exceeded its authority and made false claims about the dangers of fake pot. Implementation of the ban would have “a severe and devastating impact upon thousands of retail establishments,” the suit says. One of the plaintiffs, Jim Carlson of the Last Place on Earth store in Duluth, Minn., said he will sell brands that use other, still-legal substances, noting there are about 210 similar chemicals available.
The Duluth News Tribune quoted a DEA spokeswoman as acknowledging that many such substances exist, but that “we chose five common ones because we don’t have the resources to study all of them.”
