INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — New Indiana Board of Pharmacy emergency
rules ban four additional types of compounds that are used in synthetic
drugs such as spice and K2, the agency announced Thursday.
The
rules were posted on Indiana Register on Wednesday and take effect in 30
days, the board said. The rules will remain in effect until next year,
giving the General Assembly time to enact the rules into law.
A
2012 state law gives the board the power to ban such compounds until the
General Assembly can reconvene. The law allows the Board of Pharmacy to
pass emergency rules so law enforcement agencies can take timely action
against the compounds.
"These harmful products can be lethal and
are being marketed to and targeted at Indiana’s youth," Nicholas W.
Rhoad, executive director of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency,
which includes the pharmacy board," said in a news release. "We are
collaborating with the authorities to quickly respond to these
situations and make sure that these drugs aren’t available."
Last month, four high school students were treated at Columbus Regional Hospital after becoming ill from
smoking spice.
The
pharmacy board says rogue chemists are constantly changing the chemical
formulas of their synthetic drugs to skirt the law. The board said it
works closely with the Indiana State Police to identify compounds used
in synthetic drugs so it can act swiftly to ban them.
Spokesman Nick Goodwin says it’s the sixth time the Board of Pharmacy has banned synthetic drugs under
the 2012 law.
According
to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, spice products are second only
to marijuana in the use of illicit drugs by young people because of
easy access, a misperception that the products are natural, and not
being easily detected on drug tests.