Two state senators introduced a bill this morning that would ban synthetic marijuana in Minnesota.
Often sold as "incense" in head shops, synthetic marijuana is usually a mixture of legal herbs that -- when combined -- simulate the effects of marijuana.
The synthetic marijuana bill comes on the heels of successful legislation last session that banned the hallucinogen "salvia" in Minnesota.
The Drug Enforcement Agency temporarily outlawed the possession or sale synthetic marijuana last November, prompting a lawsuit from four Minnesota head shops. Fifteen states have also passed bans. The Duluth City Council banned the possession and sale of synthetic marijuana this summer.
Today's bill, sponsored by Sens. Katie Sieben and Bill Ingebrigtsen, would make synthetic marijuana a Schedule I drug. Specifically, it targets "any natural or synthetic material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of a substance that is a cannabinoid receptor agonist..."
