Congress agrees to add 26 synthetic chemicals to Controlled Substance Act

by Sharon Hill/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) commended the House and Senate negotiators for agreeing on legislation to control 26 synthetic drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. These drugs include those commonly found in products marketed as “K2” and “Spice”.

The addition of these chemicals to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act will be included as part of the S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. Schedule I substances are those with a high potential for abuse, have no medical use in treatment in the United States, and lack an accepted safety for use of the drug.

In addition to scheduling the 26 drugs, the new law would double the length of time a substance may be temporarily placed in Schedule I ( 18 to 36 months). In addition to explicitly named 26 substances the legislation creates a new definition for “cannaleamimetic agents”, creating criteria by which similar chemicals compounds are controlled.

In recent years a growing number of dangerous products have been introduced into the U.S. marketplace. Products labeled as “herbal incense” have become especially popular, among teens and young adults. These products consist of plant material laced with synthetic cannabinoids which smoked mimic the delirious effects of THC, the psychoactive ingredients of marijuana. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, more than 100 such substances have been synthesized and identified to date. DEA has used its emergency scheduling authority to place in schedule I several of these harmful chemicals.

Newly developed drugs, particularly from the “2Cfamily” (dimethoxphenethylamines) are generally referred to as synthetic psychedelic hallucinogens. 2CE caused the recent of a 19 year-old in Minnesota.

The substances added to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act also include 9 different 2C chemicals and 15 different synthetic anabantids.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that they received 6959 calls related to synthetic marijuana in 2011, up from 2906 in 2010. Recently, Michigan laws have been introduced and changed in banning “K2” and “Spice”.