BANNED: Fake ? Gets Smoked Out Of New York; Gov. Cuomo Bans 'Legal ? ' Statewide

MorrisBX
MorrisBX Members Posts: 652 ✭✭✭
edited March 2012 in The Social Lounge
Mar 29 - BANNED: Fake ? Gets Smoked Out Of New York; Gov. Cuomo Bans 'Legal ? ' Statewide - ThatHustle.com
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Days after Daily News exposé, Gov. Cuomo bans ‘legal ? ’ statewide
Exclusive: Gov.'s order to state Health Dept. will go out Thursday

BY HEIDI EVANS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The Daily News' ongoing series about the dangers of synthetic marijuana led the way to Gov. Cuomo banning the legal substance statewide.

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SKIP DICKSTEIN/ALBANY TIMES UNION

“We are banning the sale of synthetic marijuana because, no matter what you call it, it’s clear that this is an illegal drug which is putting the health of New Yorkers, especially young adults, at risk,” Gov. Cuomo told The News.

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MICHAEL DABIN/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A packet of 'Killer Buzzz' herbal incense.

Synthetic marijuana — the dangerous designer drug sold as herbal incense — is being banned statewide.

The order from the state Health Department will go out Thursday, a week after the Daily News revealed the fake weed is sending young New Yorkers to the emergency room.

“We are banning the sale of synthetic marijuana because, no matter what you call it, it’s clear that this is an illegal drug which is putting the health of New Yorkers, especially young adults, at risk,” Gov. Cuomo told The News.

“By acting now we can put parents’ minds at ease by preventing the spread of synthetic marijuana in our communities and our schools.

We need to stop this problem before it starts and get this drug off the shelves of every store in our state to protect our children’s health and safety.”

Three dozen other states had already banned the synthetic cannabinoids, but they are widely available at New York’s corner stores and gas stations.

The state’s order, which will be sent to the city Health Department and every county, says sale and distribution of the drug must “cease immediately.”

Violators could be subject to civil action. State legislation to make it a crime to sell the substance is pending.

An existing federal ban on five chemicals used in the weed is too narrow to cover many of the products on the market, and it’s set to expire in six months.

“This is an important step in the right direction, because currently these dangerous substances are only temporarily banned at the federal level,” said Jim Burns, special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York.

“To have this banned at the state level enables both state and federal authorities to take action now to make sure these substances are removed and aren’t sold to the public.”

Synthetic ? has been linked to severe medical and psychiatric reactions, including kidney failure, paranoia, hallucination, high blood pressure and heart rate.

A handful of deaths across the country have been blamed on the juiced-up herbs — sold under names like K2, Spice, Killer Buzzz and iAroma.

Emergency room doctors have been troubled by the growing number of young people showing up with alarming symptoms from their “legal” highs.

Calls to poison control centers around the country about synthetic ? have skyrocketed from 13 in 2009 to about 6,900 in 2011.

In the city, the cases jumped from just four in 2009 to more than 110 in the last 12 months, including 57 people who ended up in the ER.

Staten Islander Susan Amato, whose 29-year-old son wound up in a psychiatric ward after getting hooked on the drug, called the state order “wonderful news.”

Since synthetic marijuana came on the scene three years ago, law enforcement has been trying to keep pace with underground chemists who keep tweaking the compounds to evade the federal ban.

The state’s ban is far broader than the federal one — it includes any substance capable of the psychoactive effects of marijuana.

A federal bill that would make the nationwide ban permanent and broad is being held up by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who says the penalties are too stiff.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been pressing Paul to let the Senate vote.

More: Mar 29 - BANNED: Fake ? Gets Smoked Out Of New York; Gov. Cuomo Bans 'Legal ? ' Statewide - ThatHustle.com

Source: NY Daily News

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Regulator
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  • MorrisBX
    MorrisBX Members Posts: 652 ✭✭✭
    That ? is banned in Georgia too. It was the day before yesterday as a matter of fact. I went to about 3 different smoke shops and the shelves were empty. A couple of these smoke shops going to go out of business in a few months. Some of them get by off of porn and bongs but a lot of them cappin strictly off of the fake weed. They're ? . A lot of ? going back to jail for ? ? now.

    I can't read what u wrote cuz of them ass n ? in ur sig!
  • HafBayked
    HafBayked Members Posts: 16,248 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thats good get that ? off the streets.....
  • Bcotton5
    Bcotton5 Members Posts: 51,851 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That ? is banned in Georgia too. It was the day before yesterday as a matter of fact. I went to about 3 different smoke shops and the shelves were empty. A couple of these smoke shops going to go out of business in a few months. Some of them get by off of porn and bongs but a lot of them cappin strictly off of the fake weed. They're ? . A lot of ? going back to jail for ? ? now.

    you can ? ? off K2?
  • Amotekun
    Amotekun Members Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So if it's obviously dangerous and puts the health of people at risk, why isn't there a ban on the sale of cigarettes?