Government
Lawmakers may be bypassed in outlawing synthetic drugs
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By ALEX MITCHELL
Capitol News Service
LANSING—New versions of dangerous synthetic drugs could be outlawed quickly after they’re invented under a proposal that would let state authorities act faster than the legislature. “These drugs are a hazard to public health,” said Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, who is sponsoring the bill. The active ingredients in synthetic marijuana are applied to various dried vegetation. A slight alteration can create a new compound that is not one of the three synthetic chemicals on the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s Schedule 1 list, a list of illegal drugs that have no recognized medicinal use such as heroin and LSD, Jones said. “A rogue chemist would go in and alter the molecular structure of an illegal substance, creating a similar effect but a different subject,” Jones said.