Staff Editorial: When the weed is away, the Spice will play

In the past six months, eight more states have banned the synthetic cannabinoid known as “Spice.”

Now, Indiana’s Spice trade is on the chopping block, with Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette and Rep. John Barnes, D-Indianapolis calling for its prohibition.

But the widespread condemnation of this product seems disproportional to its actual danger, especially when more harmful drugs such as mephedrone have been legal for much longer and have not received the same negative attention from political figures.

A likely explanation for this might lie in a quote from Alting: “This is hot. This is popular, in listening to kids in our schools. And what makes it more attractive is that it’s legal.”

The popularity of Spice makes it an ideal target for politicians like Alting and Barnes, who are trying to galvanize their political base rather than help the community.

With elections looming in November, it is not surprising they want to increase their prominence, and playing safety officer to the community is an effective route to take.

The rhetoric opposing Spice focuses on showy displays rather than rational arguments.

Rep. Barnes likes to show off Derek McQueen of Greenfield.Mr. McQueen attempted to commit suicide due to Spice-induced paranoia.

Then there is the Indiana Poison Center’s statistic reporting 76 cases of Spice toxicity this year. Of course these accounts and numbers are miniscule when compared to something like the 23,199 alcohol-related deaths in 2007. And this from a substance as common to our everyday lives as milk and cereal.

Alting and Barnes are going for the easy prey and should understand pursuing every chemical-altering substance is useless because if someone is chasing a high, they will find a way to get it.

The recent tale of Spice exemplifies this truism.   

The reason why a drug like Spice is even being manufactured and sold is because the substance it is cheaply imitating, marijuana, is currently illegal.

It’s logical to assume if marijuana were made legal, there would be no need for knockoff drugs which use potentially harmful synthetic chemicals to recreate the high marijuana offers naturally.

Inflating Spice into a menacing villain diverts attention away from more sinister unscheduled drugs and completely ignores the reason why Spice even exists.

It is an irresponsible way to increase political recognition and should be seen as such.