{"id":10616,"date":"2015-03-09T19:23:44","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T19:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=10616"},"modified":"2017-10-12T11:08:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T11:08:16","slug":"attorneys-general-take-on-spice-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2015\/03\/attorneys-general-take-on-spice-drug\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorneys general take on \u2018Spice\u2019 drug"},"content":{"rendered":"

The drugs sent 28,000 people nationwide to the emergency room in 2011.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Attorneys general are fighting the illegal sale of synthetic marijuana with their pens.<\/span><\/p>\n

A letter signed by 43 attorneys general \u2014 including Roy Cooper from North Carolina \u2014 was sent to nine major oil companies last Tuesday, urging them to eliminate synthetic marijuana from their gas stations\u2019 convenience stores and retail locations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use of the drugs is a national problem \u2014 sending 28,000 people to the emergency room in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the significant danger synthetic drugs present to users, especially our young people, we are extremely troubled that these drugs have been readily available in well-known retail locations,\u201d the attorneys\u2019 letter said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Synthetic marijuana is often marketed under names like \u201cK2\u201d and \u201cSpice\u201d and is not tested for safety, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which received 3,679 calls due to exposure to the drug in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelly Alanis-Hirsch, a researcher who studies substance abuse disorders at UNC, said the synthetic drug is not comparable to the organic drug, and the lack of regulation poses a serious threat to users\u2019 health.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is created by spraying various chemicals on herbs or other leafy material,\u201d Alanis-Hirsch said. \u201cThe chemicals mimic the effect of THC that appears naturally in organic marijuana, but the synthetic marijuana compounds vary by manufacturer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Federal and state laws prohibit the manufacture, sale and consumption of synthetic marijuana. Synthetic marijuana was made illegal in the state in 2011 when the N.C. General Assembly classified it as a controlled substance.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act, which categorized 26 synthetic cannabinoids as Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Substances Act \u2014 outlawing the drugs at the federal level.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Alanis-Hirsch said that drug companies have evaded the federal law by manufacturing substances similar, but not identical, to those prohibited by the federal government.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecipes are changed in response to governmental efforts to make the product illegal; thus, it\u2019s marketed as a \u2018legal high,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary-Nel Saarloos, a medical doctor in Asheville, said she often treats patients who have overdosed, but the constantly changing chemical components make it difficult to diagnose. Blood and urine tests often can\u2019t detect these components of the drug, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Association of Attorneys General called for major oil companies to revoke franchises of gas stations that violate the federal controlled substances laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people should not die or be seriously injured from using products bought at gas stations or convenience stores,\u201d the letter says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: www.dailytarheel.com<\/a>17th<\/sup> February 2015<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The drugs sent 28,000 people nationwide to the emergency room in 2011. Attorneys general are fighting the illegal sale of synthetic marijuana with their pens. A letter signed by 43 attorneys general \u2014 including Roy Cooper from North Carolina \u2014 was sent to nine major oil companies last Tuesday, urging them to eliminate synthetic marijuana […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12,92,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-effects-of-drugs","category-legal-sector","category-synthetics","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10616\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}