New legislation that proposes making synthetic marijuana illegal has stopped circulating the Capitol and will now be the subject of a public hearing in committee later this month.
The bill, authored by Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, would extend current Wisconsin restrictions against marijuana to the plant’s lab-made, synthetic variety.
Synthetic marijuana is currently considered a “drug of concern” by the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Bies said. The bill would allow law enforcement officials to use state resources such as the state’s crime lab to prosecute cases.
“Synthetic marijuana is becoming a real problem drug and, like the real stuff that it mimics, needs to be made illegal,” Bies said in a statement.
Currently, synthetic marijuana use carries no statewide restrictions, but communities across Wisconsin have a variety of different ordinances to regulate marijuana. Bies said a uniform law applied to all Wisconsin communities would cut expenses associated with arrests and substance analysis.
There is a wide amount of evidence testifying to the dangers of synthetic marijuana, Bies said, including studies that show suicide as a possible side effect. Bies also said synthetic marijuana potency is not standardized, which leads to little regulation between manufacturers.
The Madison branch of National Organization for the Reform Marijuana Laws, a marijuana advocacy group, has concerns about the legislation.
“Synthetic cannabinoids are no more harmful than legal substances like alcohol and tobacco,” Madison NORML spokesperson Gary Storck said. “A wide range of people regularly use these products without ill effect.”
A number of people use synthetics for multiple sclerosis symptoms, pain, Crohn’s disease and other illnesses, Storck said.
He also said there would be new costs associated with implementing the law. The bill would create new criminal penalties that would increase prosecution costs to the state.
“Marijuana prohibition is a counterproductive fraud, and it’s sad to see our lawmakers waste time on this when there is so much more important things to address, especially now,” Stock said.
The Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections will hold a public hearing on the bill later this month. Bies said he expects the bill to gain support from both Republicans and Democrats.
