N.J. issues statewide ban on designer drugs

N.J. Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa has issued a statewide ban on synthetic drugs, preempting state and federal legislation that would ban synthetic marijuana.

The state passed a ban on bath salts last year.

“Today, we are ending this dangerous game played by drug dealers,” Chiesa said in his announcement with the state Division of Consumer Affairs.
“We are making it unambiguously clear that if a synthetic chemical is being sold because it mimics the effects of marijuana, the dealer is committing a crime.”

The state order bans synthetic compounds that imitate the effects of marijuana, all known or unknown variants of the drug that would fall within each class and, “any other synthetic chemical compound that is a cannabinoid receptor agonist and mimics the pharmacological effect of naturally occurring cannabinoids”

Violators face fines of up to $25,000 and imprisonment for a three- to five-year term.