By Byron Spires Herald Editor There is a new craze hitting America. It is the legal sale of a product that mimics the effects of marijuana and is as close as your nearest convenience store. The product has a number of names including Spice, MOJO or Triple XXX. In most cases these products have no list of ingredients. A recent story in The Herald provided by Teresa Eubanks, editor of the Calhoun Liberty Journal, told of several instances of MOJO use that led to people becoming violently sick and hospitalized. One nine-year-old child had to be life-flighted to the hospital after smoking the product. It is sold as an incense, but is laced with synthetic THC chemicals, the same chemicals found in marijuana in its natural form that reportedly gives the user a “high.” The synthetic version of THC is lauded for not showing up on drug tests. There is no scent or odor associated with these substances. “Synthetic cannabinoids” are a large family of compounds that are functionally (biologically) similar to THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana. Synthetic cannabinoids, however, are not organic but are chemicals created in a laboratory. According to one source, the so-called “incense” is wrapped in cigarette papers or cigar wrappers and smoked. It is also smoked in pipes or Bongs like marijuana. Some of the product names include, but are not limited to, “Spice,” “K2,” “Zohai,” “Dream,” “Genie,” “Sence,” “Smoke,” “Skunk,” “Serenity,” “Yucatan,” and “Fire.” These synthetic substances are suspected to be manufactured in bulk quantities in countries such as China, Pakistan and India, and some of the actual products may be packaged for wholesale distribution in intermediate locations such as Eastern Europe. There are a number of web sites that encourage the use of the new drug and one even states the “synthetic substance JWH-018 is four to five times more potent than the THC in marijuana. Other web sites, however, say “JWH-018 has not been licensed anywhere in the world for medical applications and little is known about the effect on humans, as not even pre-clinical studies have been conducted to determine potential toxicity.” There are some states that have already banned the product’s sale such as Oregon, Georgia, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas. Other states are considering the ban including Florida. The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) considers it to be a "drug of concern" and in March of this year placed a temporary ban effective March 1, 2011. From the DEA website concerning the synthetic drugs JWH-018 and four other synthetic marijuana drugs JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexano, which are used to make the so-called “fake pot” products, states the following: “Since 2009, DEA has received an increasing number of reports from poison control centers, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies concerning products containing synthetic cannabinoids. Emergency room physicians report that individuals who use these types of products experience dangerous side effects, including: convulsions, anxiety attacks, dangerously elevated heart rates, increased blood pressure, vomiting, and disorientation.” As a result of this order, the full effect of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, (CSA) and its implementing regulations, including criminal, civil, and administrative penalties, sanctions, and regulatory controls of Schedule I substances will apply to the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation, and exportation of these synthetic cannabinoids. These products coincide with the growing distribution and abuse of a class of synthetic substances that have stimulant/psychoactive properties when ingested and that are sold as “bath salts” or “plant food.” State representative Jimmy Patronis, Rep. District 6 which includes Gulf and parts of Bay and Franklin counties, co-sponsored a bill that banned Bath Salts. In a phone interview last week for WGWD 93.3 radio show “Back Country Roads,” Patronis spoke about the salts’ legislation and his concerns about MOJO and other products being sold as incense. Patronis explained that the need for legislation for bath salts was brought to his attention by Bay County sheriff Frank McKeithen. The bath salts, like the herbal incense, are laced with synthetic marijuana as a way of distributing the drug. Because of the oncoming Spring Break and the number of young people that come to Panama City’s beaches, Patronis said he moved quickly on the issue with the help of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who came to the two committee meetings on the issue. “I give a lot of credit to her,” Patronis said about the bill. Legislation that bans synthetic marijuana was passed, he said, after Miley Cyrus was seen using Saliva on websites, another “legal drug” that is laced. Janet Adkins, Rep., District 12, co-sponsored the House Bill 39 that goes in