MADISON: State Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sturgeon Bay), announced he will convene a public hearing this month for Assembly Bill 57, the legislation he wrote to prohibit so-called "synthetic marijuana" products in Wisconsin. Bies' bill would create new criminal penalties for possession and sale of products marketed under names such as K2 and Spice. AB57 is set to get a hearing April 21, 2011 at the State Capitol before the Assembly's Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Rep. Bies, a 30-year veteran of law enforcement.
The committee includes 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats. In addition to Bies the bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Ed Brooks (R-Reedsburg) is the sole other committee members signed on. The bill has a total of 28 cosponsors besides Rep. Bies, 20 Assembly, and 8 Senate with 22 total Republicans and 7 Democrats.
"Synthetic marijuana is becoming a real problem drug and like the real stuff that it mimics, needs to be made illegal," said Rep. Bies. "When Sturgeon Bay Police Chief Arleigh Porter contacted me requesting a bill to address the drug, I could not have agreed more and immediately set to work on having legislation drafted." -- Rep. Garey Bies press release.
Opponents of AB57 say that by making the natural form illegal then steadily increasing the scope and intensity of sanctions for it's use, it is actually well meaning lawmakers over the years like Rep. Bies who have helped replace natural plant cannabis with synthetic cannabinoids. And while these substances have been little studied, cannabis is the most studied substance on earth with thousands of years of safe human use.
Because the U.S. government has steadily opposed research on the potential benefits of cannabis, American researchers have missed out on many opportunities. It was Israeli scientists researching marijuana who first isolated THC and other cannabinoids and discovered cannabinoid receptors located all over the body. Cannabinoids are chemicals produced by both the cannabis plants and the body. Cannabinoids produced internally by humans and other animals are called endocannabinoids (endogenous cannabinoids).
The body's network of internal cannabinoid receptors is called the endocannabinoid system. This system regulates how life processes work. Rats bred with an incomplete endocannabinoid system die young. Scientists have synthesized these cannabinoids and created many new ones for research, including the five synthetic cannabinoids marketed under names like K2.
In the 1970s, federal authorities funded the development of synthetic THC, the most famous "synthetic marijuana" of all. The drug is marketed under names such as Marinol and dronabinol as a "marijuana pill" substitute for medical cannabis. Because the intent of creating this particular synthetic cannabinoids was to find a pill to replace whole herbal cannabis, it was eventually given a Schedule 3 classification, which allows up to 5 refills.
Whole cannabis remains classed as Schedule 1, meaning government officials are sending the message that while they believe cannabis has a high potential for abuse and no medical uses, synthetic marijuana "Mari-nol" is safe enough to take for 6 months without checking back with your physician. It gets confusing:
There are lawmakers like Rep. Bies saying synthetic cannabinoids should be illegal because marijuana (cannabis) is. Meanwhile the federal government is saying that a synthetic cannabinoid (Marinol), composed of 100% synthetic THC, the most psychoactive substance in cannabis, is safe medicine.
The endocannabinoid system proves humans are hard-wired for cannabis and cannabinoids. Rather than instituting yet another counterproductive and costly prohibition, why not peel off all the layers of the onion and just repeal marijuana prohibition? Polls show most people see that as the most sensible option rather than pouring more money down the bottomless pit of marijuana prohibition.
Turning around would put the state back in forward. The multitudes of uses of cannabis/hemp/marijuana offers the potential of creating entire new industries with thousands of green jobs. Leading the state deeper down Prohibition Highway is not the solution, nor is "synthetic marijuana" being used in a manner where it comes a tiny bit close to the kind of problem that for example, alcohol abuse and drunk driving do in Wisconsin. Sadly, in a time of never seen before seen partisan acrimony and hostility, AB57 is likely to sail through committee and pass with bipartisan support so lawmakers can pretend to be getting tough on drugs again.
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