Monday, June 27, 2011

Synthetic Marijuana is back!!

Attached a link to today's Miami Herald article http://miami.pointslocal.com/story/miami/393245/incense-makers-thwart-bid-to-weed-out-fake-pot reporting that the clever manufacturers of synthetic marijuana have changed the chemical compounds just enough to skirt the ban by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a new Florida law. Mr. Nice Guy, once one of the main brands of the “incense” that authorities targeted, is no longer sold. But on its website, the manufacturer promotes the brand Barely Legal, announcing it is “Legal in all 50 states. ”Local police say Barely Legal is one of the new generation of synthetic marijuana products formulated to beat the ban. Synthetic marijuana is labeled and sold as incense or potpourri, but law enforcement officials say people know what it’s really for: smoking to get high. Its packaging says, “Not for human consumption.” Moreover, the new chemical formula is stronger than the old one, according to Mr. Nice Guy’s website and local police.

Legislation helps but isn’t the answer, said state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, who co-sponsored the synthetic-marijuana bill.“They’ll always come up with a slightly different type of strain,” Rouson said. “The creator of this drug has over 100 different strains.“This problem will only be solved by education and prevention. Not legislation, not incarceration, not punishment. We can legislate, we can [impose] punishment and hopefully, by punishment, there’s deterrence.”
I look forward to your responses and comments.
Yours
Bernd

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Manufacturers were getting around the bans by simply changing the ingredients in k2 herb blends, but what makes lawmakers think these new laws which close that particular loophole are going to do any good? There are still places advertising legal everywhere k2 incense blends, like http://www.k2incense.org . Where there is a will, there is a way!