The legislature is trying to stay ahead of the so-called “fake marijuana’ business But it will be hard for most people to know what is being banned.
By the time the legislature banned the sales of the chemical substance known as K-2 last year, a synthetic version of the synthetic marijuana already was being sold by businesses getting around the new law. This year the legislature is on the verge of making the new substances, including the materials being sold as “bath salts” illegal to possess or sell.
The bill does not list the substances by the name they’re sold in stores. They’re listed by their chemical compound, which causes problems for Senator Joseph Keaveny of St. Louis, who says he would not know what JWH007 or JWH201 if it was sitting on his desk.
Senate sponsor Jack Goodman of Mount Vernon says he understands Keaveny’s point. But he says the law requires specificity and that’s why it has to list banned substances by their chemical makeup. The senate has made some changes in the bill that already has passed the House…and hopes the House accepts the changes.