Banning cannabinoids.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: New prohibitions

AT THE END of July, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill co-sponsored by Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) aimed at banning "the chemicals used to make the dangerous drug known as 'K2' or 'Spice.'" Unlike candy-flavored meth, which Grassley and Feinstein also have sought to ban, K2 and Spice definitely exist: They are brands of "incense" that consist of dried herbs sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids intended to produce a marijuana-like high.

According to Grassley, these products are deadly. In a press release, he explained that his bill, the David Mitchell Rozga Act, is "named for the 18-year-old from Indianola who took his own life in June 2010, soon after using K2 purchased from his local shopping mall." Grassley added that "a number of people across the country have acted violently while under the influence of the drug, dying or injuring themselves and others."

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Grassley's bill is much broader than the Drug Enforcement Administration's "emergency" ban on four specific chemicals used in fake pot, which took effect in March, spurring manufacturers to switch active ingredients. The bill names 15 compounds and also covers "any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of cannabimimetic agents," unless that chemical...