In recent years, the drug trade has often outpaced the legislature and law enforcement, with a variety of dangerous synthetic drugs popping up in stores and on the streets of Maryland. These drugs, including synthetic versions of marijuana with street names like K2 and Spice, are designed to have effects that mimic those of illegal substances. Because they are created in labs and factories outside any government supervision, however, there is no way to know what is in them. In many cases, people have experienced serious side effects and even fatal reactions after using these substances.

Because new drugs are often created faster than they can be banned, Spice and other synthetic marijuana alternatives were legally sold in stores throughout the state. To help combat the scourge of these impure and hazardous chemicals, Maryland has passed legislation banning the sale of these drugs. Specifically, Senate Bill 109, which went into effect in 2013, criminalizes the possession and sale of synthetic cannabinoids and lists them as Schedule I substances. It is hoped that this step will greatly reduce the consumption of these products by children and teens, drawn to them because they were so easy to obtain.

While many stores had already stopped selling the drugs before they became illegal, it is expected that such drugs will now be much harder to find. To help the law keep pace with new synthetics and research chemicals, Maryland’s statute also bans any substance, whether it already exists or not, which is designed to mimic the effect of marijuana.

Also banned under the law are chemicals that make up the active ingredients in artificial drugs known as bath salts, which have been blamed for multiple acts of violence nationwide.

If you are facing charges for the possession or sale of any illegal substance, contact the experienced La Plata criminal defense attorneys at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A.