Synthetic marijuana prohibited
8 July 2011
Eight of the most commonly used synthetic cannabis-like drugs - so-called 'synthetic marijuana' - have been classified as prohibited substances Australia-wide from 8 July 2011.
The Commonwealth has decided the drugs should be included on Schedule 9 (prohibited substances) of the national classification system that controls how medicines and poisons are made available to the public. This move follows concerns about the drugs' potential for dependency and abuse, and health effects.
"There have been widespread reports of abuse and symptoms including severe hallucinations, psychosis and heart palpitations," said Catherine King, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing.
The scheduling follows moves by several states to ban the substances, which are marketed on the Internet under names such as Kronic, Purple Haze, Voodoo and Kaos.
A record of reasons for scheduling decisions, posted on the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website, cites concerns raised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that the synthetic compounds could have severe or life-threatening effects in the case of overdose, and that some may be more addictive than cannabis.
There was currently no evidence of any established therapeutic value for the compounds but their scheduling would allow them to be used in strictly controlled medical and clinical studies, Ms King said.
Last Reviewed: 07 July 2011
- 1. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Cannabis-like drugs to be outlawed (last updated 7 Jul 2011). http://www.tga.gov.au/newsroom/media-2011-scheduling-cannabis-110707.htm (accessed Jul 2011).
2. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Final decisions and reasons for decisions by delegates of the Secretary to the Department of Health and Ageing July 2011 (last updated 7 Jul 2011). http://www.tga.gov.au/industry/scheduling-decisions-1107-final.htm (accessed Jul 2011).
