Marijuana became illegal at the federal level with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
The act classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, deeming it to have a high potential for abuse and no justifiable medical uses.
Since 1970, a lot of research has been done on the plant, and many states have changed their laws regarding marijuana’s legality.
Despite its Schedule I classification, marijuana has proven itself as a treatment for AIDS, glaucoma and anorexia as well as many other conditions.
And considering marijuana’s benefits, some states have decriminalized it or allowed it to be used for medical reasons.
But in most states, the drug still remains subject to prohibition.
With THC — the active cannabinoid in marijuana — outlawed, many people have found a way to get high with synthetic marijuana. Researchers have known how to create synthetic cannabinoids similar to THC since 1995, according to CBS News. Clemson University’s John W. Huffman published a paper describing how to create the substance.
The recipe eventually fell into the hands of the public and is now sold as “incense.”
Most recently, “incense” blends have hit the shelves in head shops and gas stations. However, as most already know, these blends have been sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids and aren’t to be used for their smell. They’re meant to be smoked, and they produce a high similar to that of THC.
The legal pseudo-cannabinoids — HU-210, JWH-018 and JWH-073, among others — bind with the same receptor as that of THC and “[work] on the brain in the same way [as THC],” according to Live Science.
This synthetic marijuana is legal in most places and has similar effects to real marijuana, so many smokers have turned to the legal option of fake weed.
Because fake weed is currently legal, it has, in essence, signaled the end of marijuana prohibition.
While marijuana will continue to be illegal, law enforcement will have a harder time banning fake weed.
For example, the new Louisiana law passed this summer made two forms of synthetic marijuana illegal.
Mojo and Spice, the two mixtures, were taken off shelves. But Potpourri, a nearly identical drug, was still up for sale.
Potpourri remained legal because a new synthetic cannabinoid was used to get around the laws, proving the drug’s persistence while lawmakers fight to ban it.
As one synthetic cannabinoid is outlawed, chemists will simply synthesize another to keep their products legal.
While smoking “incense” may be a legal alternative to marijuana, its safety has been questioned.
Anthony Scalzo, a professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University, said he has seen fake weed cause adverse effects (hallucinations and delusions) from a THC high in at least 30 people.
In another instance, Iowa teen David Rozga “freaked out” after smoking K2, a type of synthetic marijuana, then went home and killed himself.
Even Huffman, the synthetic cannabinoid’s creator, doesn’t condone using it.
“It’s like playing Russian roulette. You don’t know what it’s going to do to you,” Huffman said in an interview with Live Science.
The use of synthetic cannabinoids has created a lot of dissent from authorities on controlled substances, so it would seem people would refrain from using them.
But the opposite is happening — “pseudo-prohibition” is being sustained through the abilities of chemists to create mock versions of THC.
The only way to fight the problem is to end the actual prohibition — legalize marijuana.
Marijuana legalization would give smokers a reason to turn away from unnatural chemicals created in a lab. People could smoke a naturally growing substance that’s seen by authorities like the Beckley Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to be less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.
Until then, this “pseudo-prohibition” will continue driving people to ingest potentially toxic chemicals in an effort to get the same effect as marijuana.
Lawmakers must weigh the benefits. Will they legalize a beneficial drug or allow dangerous chemicals be continually recreated to avoid prohibition?
Something’s got to give.
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old mass communication and English sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cgrillot.
 
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]