Louisiana banned the sale and use of eight components of synthetic marijuana after scores of people were hospitalized due to a dangerous reaction to the toxins, officials reported Thursday.
Recently, more than 100 synthetic marijuana users have been sent to emergency rooms, some for life-threatening illnesses, they said.
"This emergency rule immediately empowers law enforcement officials to remove these dangerous substances from commerce," Kathy Kliebert, the chief of the state's Department of Health and Hospitals, told Reuters.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) said that synthetic cannabinoids, also known on the streets as "Spice," "MOJO" and "White Widow," first appeared in the United States in 2009.
Synthetic marijuana is nothing like the regular marijuana that has been making headlines. The National Institutes of Health said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration banned many chemicals used in the drug. This in turn prompted manufacturers to substitute other chemicals in their mixtures, causing some users to experience toxic reactions.
"These are untested chemical concoctions that attempt to mimic marijuana without any consideration for the effects these chemicals may have on the human body," law enforcement officials in Louisiana and the coroner for East Baton Rouge Parish said in a statement.
Synthetic marijuana is marketed as a "legal high" because it doesn't contain the same compounds as its "traditional" marijuana doppelganger. Users often don't even know what exactly they're putting into their bodies, and it can cause serious harmful health effects. Symptoms include: nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms, seizures and tremors, intense hallucinations or psychotic episodes, and even thoughts of suicide, according to the AAPCC.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) says that it is the second most abused illegal substance by high school seniors behind marijuana.
