Pubdate: Mon, 28 Feb 2011
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Copyright: 2011 St. Paul Pioneer Press
Contact:  http://www.twincities.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/379
Author: Emily Gurnon
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/synthetic+marijuana

DEA BAN ON FAKE POT INGREDIENTS PROMPTS MINNESOTA LAWSUIT

Head Shops Must Toss Some Items Out

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has outlawed the sale of 
five chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana.

The DEA filed a final notice Monday that chemicals used in some 
so-called incense will be banned for sale for at least a year. The 
ruling becomes official today.

Marc Kurzman, a Minneapolis attorney who represents four shops that 
sell the products, said he filed petitions for court injunctions 
Monday to stop the action.

He has argued that the DEA has no authority to ban the chemicals and 
that its claims about their effects are false.

The idea that the "whim of one bureaucrat" can "immediately turn 
people into felons, destroy tens of thousands of small businesses, 
involving more than $100 million a year in commerce ... when the 
science doesn't back them up -- they shouldn't be allowed to do it."

The fake marijuana, sold in drug paraphernalia shops and on the 
Internet, is marketed under various brands including Spice, K2, 
Yucatan Fire and Red X Dawn. The products contain organic leaves 
coated with chemicals that purportedly provide a marijuana-like high 
when smoked.

Federal drug officials announced plans for the emergency measure in 
November amid increasing reports of adverse reactions to the chemicals.

The four Minnesota head shops Kurzman represents had sued to stop the 
DEA from declaring the products illegal.

But a U.S. district judge threw out the suit in January, saying it 
was premature because the DEA had not yet acted.

The stores are the Hideaway in Minneapolis, Down in the Valley in 
Golden Valley, Last Place on Earth in Duluth and Discontent in Moorhead.

Kurzman filed a petition for review Monday in the 8th U.S. Circuit 
Court of Appeals and a new case in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. 
He said he believed the courts would rule in his clients' favor.

In the meantime, his clients were getting rid of the products that 
will be illegal as of today, he said.

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This report includes information from the Associated Press.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom