DEA Moves to Emergency Control Synthetic Marijuana - K2 SPICE Posted by:Rocco--Monday, February 28, 2011

DEA Enacts Emergency Ban on Possession and Use of K2-Spice Type Products

MEDTOX Scientific News Release


On November 24, 2010 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a rather swift reaction to the Spice phenomenon emergency listed various chemical iterations of it as a Schedule I substance. This move by DEA puts Spice into a collection of dangerous drugs and narcotics that includes heroin and L.S.D.

Schedule I is also the regulatory home to marijuana and other cannabinoid products.


K2's (Spice) label says that the drug is "not for human consumption."

That admonition has not been followed by what appear to be hundreds of thousands of synthetic cannabinoid Spice experimenters.

The DEA ban includes spice synthetic ingredients. These now banned drugs have been spiked onto plant material that has been sold to the public at large in small packets of smokeable incense.

In a short time, Spice products have generated a great deal of public interest. The synthetic cannabinoids in Spice are powerful agonists of the main THC receptors in the brain.

Following smoking the product, Spice users report a litany of symptoms that range from pleasurable feelings of increased sociability to those of hallucinations, anxiety and profound dysphoria.

Spice is smoked using typical marijuana smoking instruments such as water "bong" pipes and smaller ceramic pipes. The experiences of Spice users can be found on blogs and drug use websites; users of Spice have not been bashful about relating their experiences and assessments of the drugs.

It remains to be seen whether or not DEA's emergency action here will deter the use and abuse of these drugs.

One of the most appealing aspects of Spice products for users was that the synthetic cannabinoids in it were not detectable using traditional THC testing assays.

In response to the explosive use of these drugs, testing laboratories like MEDTOX quickly assembled new tests and protocols that can now accurately spot and identify patterns of Spice abuse in suspected urine samples.

Further research and study of Spice will continue in light of the DEA ban. The DEA regulatory action taken here will last for at least one year.

At MEDTOXwe are committed to providing clients with the services and solutions you need to run a successful drug testing programs. Our news releases are just one way we show that commitment.

Sincerely,

MEDTOX Journal

MEDTOX Scientific, Inc.

Copyright by MEDTOX 2010