COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 26 (UPI) -- Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents and police raided shops and businesses nationwide Thursday in a crackdown on sales of synthetic drugs.
Raids were conducted on convenience stores and smoke shops in nearly 100 cities suspected of selling herbal incense products marketed as "K-2," "Spice" or under the street name "bath salts." The crackdown is the first on synthetic drugs since a July 9 federal ban took effect, USA Today reported. Many U.S. cities and states had already banned synthetic drugs that mimic the highs of marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogenics.
Police in Duluth, Minn., said they received numerous complaints about a shop called Last Place on Earth for selling packets of chemical-coated herbs.
"For the last 16 months, problems with synthetic drugs and the behaviors around the Last Place of Earth downtown have been a major concern for our citizens, business community and the police department," the Duluth Police Department said in a statement.
Two people were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, and hundreds of packets of synthetic drugs were seized.
Police and federal agents also conducted raids on businesses in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, the newspaper said.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers said centers fielded more than 6,100 calls about the banned substances in 2011, up from 304 calls in 2010, and more than 1,700 calls from January through June.
