The Michigan Board of Pharmacy was issued an imminent danger notification Wednesday from the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Director James Haveman to begin the process of making the synthetic drug phenethylamine illegal.

On Wednesday, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Acting Director Steve Arwood said, “Today, the Michigan Board of Pharmacy acting with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs initiated the emergency rule making process which will make a new class of synthetic drugs identified as phenethylamine drugs illegal in Michigan by classifying them as Schedule 1 controlled substances.

“This decision was primarily based on an imminent danger notification from the Department of Community Health acting on recommendations from Michigan State Police, local health officers and law enforcement agencies,” Arwood said.

Eastern Michigan University senior and construction major Chad Wilson said people should “stick to the real thing” if they are going to do drugs.

“I’ve never heard of people ripping each other’s faces off after smoking a joint,” Wilson said.

Phenethylamine is an organic compound that has qualities similar to amphetamines. It has been correlated with many psychological and physiological side effects that include schizophrenia, hallucinations, disorientation and seizures among others. Police have reported some users of this drug as physically violent toward law-enforcement and EMS personnel.

The imminent danger notification that was sent by the MDCH allows the Michigan Board of Pharmacy to create an emergency rule that would place phenethylamine on the controlled substance list and become illegal to state residents.

“With this class of synthetic drugs in Michigan, the state is doing all that it can to ban these substances as soon as possible,” Haveman said in the release.

Haven said because these drugs are being sold under a wide variety of names and packaging forms, parents are highly encouraged to talk to their children and call the Michigan Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 about any concerns they may have.

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