INDIANAPOLIS – Legislators on Thursday wrestled with the intricacies behind a possible state ban on synthetic marijuana, ending a meeting on the matter with more questions than answers.
Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, a retired police officer, said lawmakers receive e-mails all the time about legalizing marijuana.
“And now we are faced with this issue,” she said. “Whatever we do, I would think we would move cautiously.”
But Kendallville City Councilman Regan Ford pressed the legislators to take action quickly. Ford is also head of Drug Free Noble County.
“This is really serious stuff,” he said. “I’m begging of you – come up with something. Lead the way.”
The Commission on Courts heard testimony Thursday from chemists, citizens and lawyers about the new wave of unregulated and uncontrolled products that Hoosiers are using to get high. Brand names for these products, which minors in some communities can buy at convenience stores and other places, include Spice and K2.
Dr. James Mowry, director of the Indiana Poison Center, said his agency has received 117 reports of adverse reactions to synthetic marijuana – the second highest in the nation.
He said common problems include increased heart rate, agitation, confusion, hallucination and increased blood pressure. He said a few cases also have resulted in seizures or respiratory arrest.
Two deaths have been reported, Mowry said, but it has not been confirmed that the products were the direct cause.
“This is probably just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Mowry also said data and research are limited as to whether the effects are similar or more severe than marijuana’s.
A chemist from the Indiana State Police lab told the committee that the chemical base of the products can be adjusted in innumerable ways, making it difficult to write a law covering all possible compounds.
Instead, legislators could start with the most common chemical names and update the list every year.
This would sometimes leave a gap in which a product might be legal until the legislature returns, many said during the meeting.
Several local communities including Fort Wayne have passed ordinances that ban the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana, but these ordinances carry the threat of fines. Only the legislature can criminalize offenses.
Steve Johnson, executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, also said it is currently legal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of the substances. And others noted that blood and urine screenings done after crashes don’t pick up the synthetic marijuana.
Andrew Cullen, speaking on behalf of the Indiana Public Defender Council, said the potential chemical compounds are so many, users would have no way of knowing whether a product is illegal.
“We request you not criminalize this act at this time,” he said, noting there is little information on whether the product poses a real public safety risk.
The commission will vote next month on whether to recommend action by the General Assembly in 2011.
