Minnesota's fight against sale of designer drugs

By Karen Elizondo

A new law effective Aug 1 in minnesota has made the sale of synthetic drugs in Minnesota a felony, the Star Tribune reported.

Government and law enforcement officials are cracking down on synthetic drugs that have been linked to at least two deaths in Minnesota, the Star Tribune reported.

The crackdown, not limited to just Minnesota, is a nationwide effort driven by a federal ban on 26 different synthetic drugs that was signed by President Barack Obama this month, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The ban has led to 265 search warrants in 90 cities being carried out. Law enforcement executed raids nationwide in sales establishments and manufacturing locations, reported MPR.

In Minnesota officials raided Last Place on earth head shop and collected 20,000 packets of synthetic marijuana, MPR said.

Nationwide agents collected 4.8 million packets of synthetic marijuana, enough material to produce 13.6 million packets, 167,000 packets of "bath salts" and enough material to produce 392,000 more, according to MPR.

The law in Minnesota provides the Pharmacy Board the authority to "speed through new rules to keep up with the fast-changing formulas" that have been used to get around current law, the Star Tribune reported.