INQUIRER: Federal agents are cracking down on imports of a synthetic marijuana that has started appearing in the Philadelpha area. It is not illegal to possess the substance in any state, but officials say Food and Drug Adminstration regulations bar its import and sale because it is not a tested and approved drug. So far, 85 parcels, arriving from Amsterdam at a UPS facility at Philadelphia International Airport, have been detained then seized after tests proved positive for the drug, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The latest seizures were on Tuesday, after a CPB lab in Georgia confirmed that two parcels discovered on Jan. 6 contained JWH-018, a synthetic cannabinoid. The seizures marked a first for the agency’s Philadelphia region. The confiscated materials are small, clear plastic bags of dried leaves labeled with the brand name K2 and marketed as a kind of incense. In all, the CBP in Philadelphia has seized about four pounds of the potpourri-like stuff. MORE

TERRA SIGILLATA: “We don’t know much about this, but it’s going to end up killing somebody” I’m not going out on a limb to say that this statement of Missouri Rep. Ward Frantz might be a bit hysterical at this point but I could be wrong. Human toxicology studies have not been done and the indole moiety of the drug dose raise the possibility that it may cause serotonin syndrome, a potentially fatal but relatively rare disorder. Otherwise, this concern is far overblown when compared with other drug issues in America’s heartland such as methamphetamine. MORE