WASHINGTON - Yesterday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) exercised its emergency scheduling authority to control five chemicals used to make so-called "fake pot" products. Except as authorized by law, this action makes possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the United States.

This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety. The temporary scheduling action will remain in effect for at least one year while the DEA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) further study whether these chemicals should be permanently controlled.

Over the past couple of years, smokeable herbal products marketed as being "legal" and as providing a marijuana-like high, have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with research chemicals that claim to mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops, and over the Internet.

These chemicals, however, have not been approved by the FDA for human consumption, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process. Brands such as "Spice," "K2," "Blaze," and "Red X Dawn" are labeled as herbal incense to mask their intended purpose.

Since 2009, DEA has received an increasing number of reports from poison control centers, hospitals and law enforcement regarding these products. At least 16 states have already taken action to control one or more of these chemicals.

"Young people are being harmed when they smoke these dangerous 'fake pot?? products and wrongly equate the products' 'legal?? retail availability with being 'safe??," said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart, in a press release. "Parents and community leaders look to us to help them protect their kids, and we have not let them down. Today??s action, while temporary, will reduce the number of young people being seen in hospital emergency rooms after ingesting these synthetic chemicals to get high."