Fight to Eliminate Synthetic Marijuana Spreading Across Country

On Monday, July 9, President Obama officially signed legislation banning the sale of synthetic drugs, including synthetic marijuana and bath salts. According to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, synthetic narcotics are now classified as controlled substances, and it is therefore illegal throughout the United States to stock them on store shelves.

Prior to Obama signing this new law, the legality of bath salts and synthetic marijuana was somewhat nebulous. Although at least 40 states enacted some sort of legislation banning the sale of synthetic drugs, there was no federal ban on the substances. In addition, eliminating synthetic narcotics from retail shelves has proven to be a particularly tricky endeavor, as there is no fixed definition of precisely what these drugs are. Although a number of state legislatures chose to ban a particular chemical formulation, producers of synthetic marijuana and baths salts have become adept at slightly altering these formulas so as to eschew existing prohibitions.

For example, just two months after the Georgia legislature banned K-2 and Spice, two brands of synthetic marijuana, the products were legally right back on store shelves. This is because the manufacturers were able to change the ingredients just enough, so that the reformulated products fell outside of the original ban.

It is hoped that this latest piece of legislation will eliminate any gray area as to the legality of synthetic narcotics. By classifying all synthetic drugs as controlled substances, the law should make these substances legally indistinguishable from ecstasy, cocaine and other illegal narcotics.

The convenience store industry has taken a particular interest in synthetic marijuana and other designer drugs, as well as with legislative attempts to ban them, as the drugs have been most frequently sold at these establishments. Especially over the past year, convenience stores across the country have come under fire for selling these substances, as public awareness of their dangers has spread. In addition, many convenience stores that have continued to sell synthetic marijuana in states where the drug has been banned have become targets of law enforcement.

For their part, many within the convenience store industry are just as committed to getting K-2, Spice and similar products off retail shelves as are lawmakers. The Michigan Food and Beverage Association, which represents convenience stores, recently announced that it supports a statewide ban of the substances and that it officially advocates that all affiliated retail establishments in Michigan agree not to sell the drug. In Georgia, the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores also announced that it supports legislative efforts to ban synthetic marijuana, and it urged all convenience stores to not sell these products, regardless of whether or not their current formulation is legal. In addition, several national convenience store chains including BP and CITGO warned their franchisees that selling synthetic marijuana would be a violation of their contracts.

First popping up in the United States in 2010, the popularity of synthetic drugs has skyrocketed over the past year. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the number of calls made to poison control centers nationwide regarding synthetic marijuana more than doubled, from 2,906 in 2010, to nearly 7,000 in 2011. Those under the influence of synthetic narcotics have been known to experience a variety of negative consequences, including suffering from psychotic breakdowns, extremely elevated body temperature, elevated blood pressure and heart rate, kidney failure, breathing difficulties, uncontrollable vomiting, paralyzation and death.