Bell Seeks Ban on Fake Pot

(and variations on that name such as: K2, Pep, Zohai, Yucatan Fire and Genie) is marketed as incense and is sold in smoke shops and convenience stores. The harmful substance mimics the effects of THC, the chemical in marijuana that gives users a high.

But Spice is actually much stronger and that concerns Forsyth County Commissioner Patrick Bell and other officials.

Producers add a chemical spray, which contains a compound that has an effect similar to that of marijuana and package it as incense. Users roll it into cigarettes or smoke it in pipes. Selling Spice as incense circumvents Food and Drug Administration testing.

Bell said in a news release, producers and marketers continue to find loopholes and he has a problem with that. The product is prominently displayed, and easily available to anyone, at several Forsyth County and Cumming outlets.

This is something Bell wants to see come to an end.

“Store owners, managers and clerks innocently claim they are selling incense and say they are unaware the product is smoked," Bell said. "They are not fooling anyone and I intend on letting them know that the citizens of Forsyth County are on to them and do not want that type of business around.”

When a Georgia teenager died as a result of smoking Spice, Bell vowed to find a way to ban the sale, distribution and possession in Forsyth County. 

“I have grave concerns about products like this being marketed to kids knowing that they can cause serious effects, including death, just for the sake of a few bucks.” he said.

Bell, who is seeking a second term in District 4, brought the proposed ban forward at a recent Board of Commissioners work session along with Commissioner Todd Levent. With unanimous support, Ken Jarrard, county attorney, was instructed to draft an ordinance that would address this growing problem. The draft ordinance is to be presented at upcoming public hearings where it can be adopted by the board after the second hearing.

The DEA lists five variations as “chemicals of concern,” but because Spice doesn’t contain THC, the chemical that makes marijuana, hemp and other cannabis illegal, it is not included on the list of controlled substances.  The DEA ban was made after citing a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison-control centers that included seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behavior, agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, racing heartbeat and elevated blood pressure in synthetic cannabis users, the news release stated.

K2 is just one of the names for herbal preparations powdered with a synthetic cannabinoid, JWH-108, created by Clemson University organic chemist John W. Huffman in the mid-1990s. Georgia HB 1309, places K2 as a Schedule I controlled substance alongside heroin and above cocaine, Ritalin, and opium, that are all Schedule III. The bill passed by a 148-2 vote in the House and a 48-0 vote in the Senate.

making the sale of synthetic marijuana illegal. Named for Chase Burnett, SB370 was named “Chase’s Law.” Burnett was a 16-year old honor student and soccer player from Fayetteville who died in March after smoking synthetic marijuana.

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