Pubdate: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2011 The State Journal-Register Contact: http://service.sj-r.com/forms/letters.asp Website: http://www.sj-r.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/425 Author: Ceara Brazel BAN SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA Smoking something that was once more commonly known as potpourri or incense obviously should not sound too great; however, recently certain "incense" has obtained a new name -- synthetic marijuana. This has created quite the controversy. Going into a gas station to pay for my gas, the last thing I expected to see was a sale on synthetic marijuana. This stopped me abruptly in my tracks. Why should something like this be legal when real marijuana is not? The answer here should be very simple. This product is known to cause rapid heart rates, high blood pressure and seizures. Also, no long-term effects are known, and it is even labeled "Not for human consumption." Chemical-containing products should never be ingested, especially when a label is provided stating that. I believe that Illinois should join the ban with other states and make not only certain synthetic marijuanas illegal, but also all the chemicals that are used in the making of the product. People are always going to try and test the limits of the law. If we remove certain chemicals used in the making, we may not subdue the synthetic drug completely but we could substantially decrease the production. The DEA has already banned K2, although that is not stopping others from manipulating the package to spell out a different name. People look at the different name and think it is a different product. The fact of the matter is, it was once incense and is now laced with harmful chemicals that should be made illegal to keep synthetic marijuana off the streets and out of the hands of our future children! Ceara Brazel Litchfield - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.