Legal Commentary

DEA Bans Chemicals Used in Synthetic Marijuana Products

By Jeralyn

Using its emergency powers, the DEA today banned five chemicals used in synthetic marijuana. They are JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol. The federal register notice is here.

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 United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) further study whether these chemicals and products should be permanently controlled.

....The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to allow the DEA Administrator to emergency schedule an abused, harmful, non-medical substance in order to avoid an imminent public health crisis while the formal rule-making procedures described in the CSA are being conducted.

The chemicals are used in smokable herbal blends like “Spice,” “K2,” “Blaze,” and “Red X Dawn.” Eric Sterling says there's no evidence the chemicals or herbal blends are dangerous. [More...]

Sterling quotes Penn State Professor Michael Kenney, author of the book From Pablo to Osama: Trafficking and Terrorist Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation on the use of intelligence gathered by the drug bureaucracy:

“Prosecutors construct plausible narratives of criminal activity that satisfy the evidentiary standards of trial law procedure, convince jurors to convict defendants, and secure additional resources to continue their efforts. Policymakers create memorable narratives of organized criminality that capture the public interest, build support for bureaucratic and legislative agendas, and communicates messages laced with political symbolism that the United States is fighting, and ultimately winning, a war against drugs.”

From the Federal Register Notice linked above:

These synthetic cannabinoids alone or spiked on plant material have the potential to be extremely harmful due to their method of manufacture and high pharmacological potency. DEA has been made aware that smoking these synthetic cannabinoids for the purpose of achieving intoxication and experiencing the psychoactive effects is identified as a reason for emergency room visits and calls to poison control centers.

The data available and reviewed for JWH-073, JWH-018, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol indicate that these synthetic cannabinoids each have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and are not safe for use under medical supervision.Show citation box

Based on the above data, the continued uncontrolled manufacture, distribution, importation, exportation, and abuse of JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol pose an imminent hazard to the public safety.

There's also this:

This rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $126,400,000 or more (adjusting for inflation) in any one year, and it will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.

More on the pharmacology here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 24, 2010 (boomark / email).