Indiana pushes for synthetic marijuana ban

Indiana legislators are currently seeking to ban synthetic marijuana products that are showing up in more convenience stores and online, the South Bend Tribune reports.

After a unanimous vote from the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters, the bill will set penalties for the production, dealing, possession and delivering of synthetic marijuana. Officials told the news source that the punishment will be equal to those for the real substance, hash oil and hashish.

The synthetic marijuana, which is often marketed as potpourri, is a blend of herbs and spices that is sprayed with chemicals that can cause hallucinations if smoked.

"Synthetic cannabinoids, I think, are just the start," Tracy Brown, Tippecanoe County sheriff, told the news source. "Now that we have the chemists out there that know what they are doing and have supplies, I think they are going to be doing similar things with other substances."

Officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration recently moved to control five substances found in synthetic marijuana. This came after various poison centers, hospitals and law enforcement agencies reported increasing numbers of teens and young adults using the drug across the country.