DEA delays a final rule on Synthetic Cannibinoids

On 11/24/10 The DEA filed for a temporary emergency ban on five synthetic cannabinoids. They have not acted on that temporary filing as of 12/28/10 so the products remain legal and available in stores

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) December 28, 2010 --The DEA has not acted on the Notification to Temporarily Control five synthetic cannibinoids. The agency filed their intent to ban five of these compounds on November 24th 2010. The law requires that a final rule on the temporary order be published in the Federal Register no sooner than thirty (30) days from the date the intent to ban is published. The DEA can act on this notice of intent at any time after the thirty day period.

As of December 28th at 12 pm the DEA had not acted. On 12/24/10 a DEA Spokesman who identified himself as "David" stated that "no date had been set to issue the final rule." As a result the products remain legal and available in stores around the US, even in states that have their own bans in place. In fact the intent letter is so ambiguous it leaves out any type of disposal procedure, product testing protocol or other method for retailers that sell incense products to use to be compliant, this may explain the lack of a definitive order.

The DEA ban was a response to Senator Orrin Hatch's, (R) Utah, letter to the DEA expressing his desire to see the compounds banned. The DEA claims there is a health risk, however no documents are available on the internet or from any government agency to back that up.

"This is a victory for liberty and the rule of law that protects small business" is what Dan Francis, the Executive Director of the Retail Compliance Alliance (www.therca.org) says "I believe our legal actions and strong representation have been noticed by the DEA" he went on to say that they are not the only organization fighting the ban.

The DEA did not expect such a strong reaction from this start-up industry. One economic analyst stated that the industry may represent more than 1 billion in economic impact, if true, this will preclude the ban from ever taking effect as the emergency order is governed by Executive Order 12991 which states that emergency bans cannot be implemented in the cases where a 100 million dollar or greater economic impact will be imposed.

It is also estimated by economists that up to 50,000 jobs could be lost, and hundreds of businesses would have to close their doors.

"We need the rule of law to prevail to protect all businesses from the intrusions of Federal Agencies wanting to make felons out of store clerks" States Francis.

More information can be found online at http://www.therca.com

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