6:12 PM Tuesday Apr 30, 2013
The Government (click here) has moved to ban two more substances found in samples of K2 synthetic cannabis, which has been linked to serious medical conditions including psychotic episodes.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne today said a Temporary Class Drug Notice banning two new substances would come into effect on May 9.
It brings the number of substances banned under temporary notices to 35, which has resulted in more than 50 products being taken off the market.
Mr Dunne conceded the Government still had more to do to properly address the sale of synthetic cannabis.
"This is another blow to the industry and one of many we have delivered - but I fully acknowledge it is more of the cat-and-mouse game until we can deliver the killer punch in August when the Psychoactive Substances Bill will become law,'' Mr Dunne said....
From USA Today:
Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY
6:45 a.m. EST December 4, 2012
K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs (click here) that mimic a marijuana high sent 11,406 people — mostly teenagers and young adults — to the emergency room in 2010, according to the first report on the substances from the federal government's Drug Abuse Warning Network.
The report, the first to analyze the impact of the popular herbal incense, found that children ages 12 to 17 accounted for one-third of the emergency room visits. Young adults ages 18 to 24 accounted for another 35%.
In 59% of the cases involving patients ages 12 to 29, doctors found no other substance, differing from most emergency department visits involving illicit drugs and painkiller abuse.
Marijuana, the most popular illicit drug with 18 million regular users, sent 461,028 people to the emergency room in 2010....
...Police in Nebraska in 2010 arrested a teenage boy who had smoked Wicked X, herbal incense coated with synthetic cannabinoids. The teen careened his truck into the side of a house and then continued driving.
At least 18 states outlawed the substances and the Drug Enforcement Administration instituted an emergency ban. In July, Congress banned sales of K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act.
The lousy stuff causes acute kidney failure. The real stuff doesn't do that and any inebriation or intoxication can be held to the same standards of alcohol. It is getting increasingly clear there needs to be something done about legalization of marijuana.
...Last year, (click here) 16 people in six states suffered serious kidney damage, requiring a visit to hospital emergency departments after smoking synthetic marijuana, the report said. Nearly all individuals affected were young males (ages 15 to 33), and most experienced nausea, vomiting and abdominal or back pain, which are symptoms of kidney damage. None of those sickened had a history of kidney disease. All the patients had high blood levels of creatinine, a breakdown product that is removed from the body by the kidneys....
From USA Today:
Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY
6:45 a.m. EST December 4, 2012
K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs (click here) that mimic a marijuana high sent 11,406 people — mostly teenagers and young adults — to the emergency room in 2010, according to the first report on the substances from the federal government's Drug Abuse Warning Network.
The report, the first to analyze the impact of the popular herbal incense, found that children ages 12 to 17 accounted for one-third of the emergency room visits. Young adults ages 18 to 24 accounted for another 35%.
In 59% of the cases involving patients ages 12 to 29, doctors found no other substance, differing from most emergency department visits involving illicit drugs and painkiller abuse.
Marijuana, the most popular illicit drug with 18 million regular users, sent 461,028 people to the emergency room in 2010....
...Police in Nebraska in 2010 arrested a teenage boy who had smoked Wicked X, herbal incense coated with synthetic cannabinoids. The teen careened his truck into the side of a house and then continued driving.
At least 18 states outlawed the substances and the Drug Enforcement Administration instituted an emergency ban. In July, Congress banned sales of K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act.
The lousy stuff causes acute kidney failure. The real stuff doesn't do that and any inebriation or intoxication can be held to the same standards of alcohol. It is getting increasingly clear there needs to be something done about legalization of marijuana.
...Last year, (click here) 16 people in six states suffered serious kidney damage, requiring a visit to hospital emergency departments after smoking synthetic marijuana, the report said. Nearly all individuals affected were young males (ages 15 to 33), and most experienced nausea, vomiting and abdominal or back pain, which are symptoms of kidney damage. None of those sickened had a history of kidney disease. All the patients had high blood levels of creatinine, a breakdown product that is removed from the body by the kidneys....
