Synthetic marijuana, outlawed by state legislators in April but made available again after manufacturers altered its molecular structure, is once again illegal following an emergency ruling Tuesday by the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy.
GBI spokesman John Bankhead said the board agreed to classify those altered compounds as Schedule I substances. The Georgia Controlled Substances Act grants law enforcement the authority to seize the product, popularly known as K2 or Spice, from merchants.
Gov. Nathan Deal lobbied for the emergency provision, telling pharmacy board President Bill Prather, "The dangers associated with these drugs are obvious."
The ruling comes one week after GBI Chief Medical Examiner Kris Sperry confirmed that a Fayette County teen died from drowning caused by the use of synthetic marijuana -- the first time the drug has been officially linked to a death in Georgia.
The death of Chase Burnett, 16 when he drowned, inspired the legislation that outlawed the sale of the popular substance, which is made up of plant material and sprayed with chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
Manufacturers responded quickly to the new law, authored by state Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler. "They essentially altered the basic [molecular] structure and started all over again," Carter said.
Deal, in his letter to Prather, credited GBI chemists with identifying those revised structures that are now outlawed by the emergency ruling.
The new provision does not allow for arrests or criminal prosecution, Bankhead said. That will require additional legislation by the General Assembly.
Deal, in his letter, acknowledged that the peddlers of synthetic marijuana are likely to continue mining for loopholes.
"It is possible that the manufacturers of these products will continue to introduce substances that will require additional action by the State Board of Pharmacy," the governor wrote.
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