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A legislative committee Wednesday unanimously approved draft legislation that would regulate statewide the drug known as spice.

The draft bill, sponsored by Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, would limit the manufacture, distribution and possession of spice. The Health and Human Services interim committee gave the proposal a favorable recommendation, which gives it momentum going into the upcoming legislative session.

Spice, which is often marketed as incense, consists of plant material that has been treated with chemicals that include synthetic cannabinoids, the active ingredient in marijuana. Because the chemicals do have medical benefits, such as prevention of nausea during chemotherapy, doctors and researchers would be allowed to continue working with the drugs but would not be allowed to prescribe or dispense them for home use.

The bill would not add spice to the Drug Enforcement Agency schedule of controlled substances but would create a separate list of substances that could be regulated, said Paul Boyden of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors. The list would include compounds that have been detected in cases referred to the state crime lab, as well as others that could migrate into Utah. Newly created chemicals could also be added as needed.

"That's the problem with these clever chemists. … They crop up all the time," said David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health.

Sundwall chairs Utah's Controlled Substance Advisory Committee, which presented its findings Wednesday. He recommended a statewide law which would clear up discrepancies among municipalities that have already banned the substance.

"We have a patchwork quilt all over the state," Sundwall said, citing cities and counties that have already passed ordinances banning the sale and possession of spice.

Spice and other synthetic cannabinoids are not currently under federal control in the United States but are banned in several European countries, according to materials from the Controlled Substance Advisory Committee. The Drug Enforcement Agency has labeled it a "drug of concern."

The drug has effects similar to marijuana, but because its manufacture is completely unregulated, effects and strength can vary widely. —

'Spice' lecture

P Salt Lake City will host a lecture on the substance known as spice from noon to 1 p.m. Friday in Room 326 of City Hall, 451 S. State St.. Speakers include Glen Hanson, a professor in the department of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Utah; Mike Ross of the police department; and Paul Boyden of the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office.

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