Senators say ‘spice’ use could affect readiness - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Senators say ‘spice’ use could affect readiness

The military’s struggle to come to grips with the marijuana-like synthetic cannabinoids collectively known as “spice” have raised alarms with two influential senators who say that the products “pose a risk to the operational readiness of our armed forces.”

In a letter sent Tuesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed particular concern over high-profile spice busts by the Navy, reported in Navy Times and other news outlets, on spice abuse aboard the amphibious assault ship Bataan and at the Naval Academy. They also pointed to Navy statistics cited in one of the stories showing that 151 sailors had been accused of using or been caught with spice during the first four months of the fiscal year.

“We share the concern of Fleet Forces chief Adm. John Harvey when he called the number of K2/spice incidents ‘alarming,’ ” the senators wrote. “While we applaud recent efforts by the Department of Defense to address the growing use of K2 [a brand of spice] and spice by members of the armed forces … we are afraid that K2 and spice pose a risk to the operational readiness of our armed forces.”

Feinstein and Grassley are chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, and they asked Gates to provide witnesses at an April 6 caucus hearing on synthetic cannabinoids. Both also serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight on spice-related legislation, and both have introduced a bill banning compounds found in spice.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, recently introduced a similar proposal that would make permanent a one-year ban imposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, effective March 1, on five of the compounds used to formulate spice-like products.

The senators specifically asked Gates for written testimony about the Bataan and Naval Academy incidents, “the dangers K2/spice use poses for the armed services in general, and about actions the Department has taken to address use and abuse of K2 and spice by members of the armed forces.”

The substances, produced by a variety of manufacturers, generally produce a marijuana-like high, although the actual ingredients and potency vary widely; in worst-case scenarios, officials report, users have experienced symptoms ranging from agitation and anxiety to vomiting and seizures.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have all banned spice possession and use, and the Air Force has introduced a urine test for spice. While now illegal to sell at retail within the U.S., the products remain widely available on the Internet.