Spice

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that it will place five synthetic cannabinoids into the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions.

The substances are JWH-018, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and CP-47,497. The emergence of these five synthetic cannabinoids represents a recent phenomenon in the U.S. designer drug market.

Since the initial identification of JWH-018 by U.S. forensic laboratories, many additional synthetic cannabinoids including JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol have been identified in related herbal incense products and plant food. These synthetic cannabinoids have purported psychotropic effects when smoked or ingested.

These substances are typically found in powder form or are dissolved in appropriate solvents, such as acetone, before being sprayed on the plant material contained in the herbal incense products. Some of the product names include, but are not limited to, "Spice" and "K2". The products that contain these five THC-like synthetic cannabinoids are perceived as "legal" alternatives to marijuana despite the fact that they are typically advertised as herbal incense or plant food (Bonsai 18) by Internet retailers, tobacco shops, head shops, and other domestic brick and mortar retail venues, and labeled "Not For Human Consumption."