The DEA has issued an emergency action to halt the sale of the chemicals used to produce the fake drugs. It is now illegal to possess those five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol) used to make so-called “fake pot” products, unless authorized by law. This law will be in effect for one year while the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) investigate if these chemicals should be controlled permanently, according to a recent statement from the DEA.
“Young people are being harmed when they smoke these dangerous ‘fake pot’ products and wrongly equate the products’ ‘legal’ retail availability with being ‘safe’,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Parents and community leaders look to us to help them protect their kids, and we have not let them down. Today’s action, while temporary, will reduce the number of young people being seen in hospital emergency rooms after ingesting these synthetic chemicals to get high.”
