Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to create a special investigative unit to target online sales of synthetic marijuana.
The New York Democrat said that despite state bans on fake pot, dealers are able to sell it online to users as well as retailers. A special unit within the DEA could investigate these dealers and notify credit card companies to stop transactions involved in purchasing the drugs, he said.
Federal statistics show some 2,300 emergency room visits in a two-month period were related to synthetic marijuana use, and that poison control center calls about the drug are surging around the nation, Schumer said.
Synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2, is designed to mimic actual marijuana but can have very different effects on the brain and body.
