Connecticut Cracks Down on 'Fake Pot'

Twin bills cause confusion
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2011 1:35 PM CDT
Conn. Cracks Down on 'Fake Pot'
Marijuana will soon be decriminalized in Connecticut--even as synthetic marijuana becomes illegal.   (Shutterstock)

Connecticut might've decriminalized marijuana, but it's going to criminalize fake pot: A bill passed this week would classify synthetic marijuana and the herb Salvia diviorum as a controlled substance that is illegal to possess. Synthetic products could be legally sold in stores until the federal government reclassified them in March.

So if both bills pass, someone caught with legally-purchased Salvia could wind up with a criminal record, while someone caught with back-alley weed wouldn’t, TheDay points out. “For the life of me, I don’t know how I am going to explain to my constituents that we have one penalty for the fake pot but another for real pot,” the Senate minority leader complains. Click here for more on the bill decriminalizing pot. (More Connecticut stories.)

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