As expected, the House of Representatives has passed a bill banning synthetic stimulants and cannabinoids. On the positive side, 98 members voted against responding to the drugs with a new prohibition.
Between now and the seating of a new Congress after the 2012 elections, drug reform is going to be a tough slog on Capitol Hill. But that doesn't mean reformers are going away, or that there aren't battles to be fought and won.
Congress never met a new drug it didn't want to ban. (image via Wikimedia)
Stymied by drug laws that make the government actually prove something is harmful before banning it, New Zealand is instituting an emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids while it figures out what to do.
Fake pot goes under many brand names. Spice is one. (image via wikimedia.org)
Acting with great rapidity for a legislative body, the Czech Parliament has moved to ban dozens of synthetic drugs, and the stuff that gets you high in salvia divinorum, too.
New Zealand takes a reasoned approach to fake pot. (Image via Wikimedia)