Sen. Charles Schumer Calls For Faster Action On Synthetic Marijuana

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer says the federal Drug Enforcement Agency needs to speed up its fight against synthetic marijuana.

The Democrat said Sunday that he's urging the agency to use its existing authority to ban more than 250 chemicals used in the synthetic drugs.

Schumer said the agency has already prohibited about 20 of the chemicals used to make synthetic pot, but hasn't yet acted on a long list of chemicals that it can ban.

Sold under a variety of brand names, synthetic marijuana includes any number of man-made substances designed to mimic the effects of marijuana.

Even though many of the chemicals are already banned, drug chemists can circumvent the restrictions by switching ingredients.

Synthetic marijuana has made headlines locally in recent months.

Earlier this month in Westchester County, three Pleasantville High School students ended up in the hospital after allegedly smoking synthetic marijuana off-campus.

In July, New York City officials said 15 people who smoked synthetic pot were treated in emergency rooms in a span of just days.

Reactions to the substance include nausea, dizziness and hallucinations, health officials say.

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